South Korean Moms Are Taking the Lead in Buying Bitcoin Despite the Coronavirus Pandemic

As bitcoin prices keep exchanging hands above the $48k handle as of press time, South Korea notices a particular growing trend in a specific profile of crypto investors. A recent study revealed that a new era of “crypto moms” is emerging across the board in the country.

Millennials Are Lagging Far Behind, Says Study

Per Maeil Kyungjae, citing data from research firm Wiseapp, females aged 40-49 in the Asian country have been actively buying bitcoin (BTC) in recent weeks. The data was collected via major domestic exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb.

The report calls this trend the “second boom” of cryptocurrencies in South Korea, as females surveyed were mostly mothers. According to the figures, over 30% of Bithumb and Upbit users belong to that age range, while 21% are over 50 years old.

On the other hand, millennials are losing ground in holding cryptos, as the numbers unveiled that only 19% of the users are just aged 20-29. In contrast, teenagers are at the bottom with just 1.5%.

The “second boom” name granted by Wiseapp is not a cliche of the recent crypto bull-run. In fact, these numbers are the opposite of the ones seen between 2017 and 2018, despite there is an active pandemic hitting the country.

At that time, when the BTC frenzy in 2017 was also making the headlines, people aged 30 accounted for 30.7% of the crypto users in South Korea. Also, the 20s people were 24% of the South Korean crypto map.

Mature South Korean Crypto Investors Gained Experience by Trading Stocks

The local media outlet, who named the report “Mom is a BTC investor,” provided some reasons behind this shifting trend in the crypto demographics:

The reason why the age group leading the virtual asset transaction has changed is the painful experiences of the 20th and 30th generations who suffered a ‘great crash’ at the time. The 20th and 30th generations, who started investing in cryptocurrency in 2017-2018, suffered massive losses due to strong government regulations such as the real-name virtual asset transaction system.

And the “great crash” triggered a wave of so-called “crypto suicides” across the country. However, people aged 30-60 have increased their experience in investing with risky assets, thanks to the stocks trading, says the study.

Interestingly, Kim Mo, a female stocks manager, told Maeil Kyungjae a particular reason why she started to invest in crypto:

I started investing after seeing Tesla’s CEO and others invest in bitcoin. It’s a small amount right now, but I’m going to invest more by looking at the price trend.

What do you think about this “crypto” demographics study in South Korea? Let us know in the comments section below.