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I was quite amazed to see an item across my desk last week with the headline:
Investors in cryptocurrency are more likely to be psychopaths
Seriously?
The headline is based on a report of a survey, published in the journal Plos One, who canvassed over 2,000 Americans of whom 30 per cent said they owned or had owned crypto. The result? A 20 page report which has a number of thoughts:
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will display higher levels of conspiracism.
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will display lower levels of factors associated with analytic and scientific thinking.
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will display a mixture of left- right political allegiances.
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will display higher levels of populist sentiment.
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will be more supportive of extremist groups.
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will display higher levels of negative emotional affect and lower levels of positive emotional affect.
- Individuals who have purchased crypto currencies will display higher levels of nonnormative personality traits.
Put it another way, in the hands of The Daily Mail, all people buying crypto are psychopaths. Nice.
The research specifically states that “crypto investment and ownership tends to appeal to people who are more argumentative, anti-authoritarian, and prefer to get their news from non-mainstream social media sites”. Is that me? Or you? Well, it does amount to around five million people in Britain who hold cryptoassets and over 90 million Americans.
Truth?
Meanwhile, the UK health service called the NHS has specifically cited that there is a problem with young men investing in crypto. Last month, Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said there were “ever more opportunities springing up for younger people to get addicted to gambling — including unregulated cryptocurrency markets”.
Interesting.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, American Psychos are killing Crypto Kings … surely, that would never happen on Wall Street?
Related: A New British Government: What Does It Mean for Fintech?