CRYPTOCURRENCY
Young adults are most likely to invest in cryptocurrencies in the near term, multiple surveys show. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Dubai: In the UAE, multiple surveys have lately been showing that young adults are among those most likely to invest in cryptocurrencies in the near term, while further noting that they either hold or plan to hold crypto assets in the next 12 months.

Cryptocurrencies have rapidly been gaining in appeal, particularly among younger demographics worldwide, and crypto market analysts are evaluating how the recent rise in interest marks a substantial shift in attitude towards digital currencies being seen as solely an investment vehicle to a means of doing business on a regular basis.

Over 54 per cent of residents surveyed in the UAE, aged between 18 and 35 years, are expressing increased openness towards cryptocurrency, indicated a study by global payments provider Checkout.com.

In its 2022 report, Checkout.com highlighted the increasingly positive trends in the adoption of crypto and appetite for using digital currencies for e-commerce, especially among young and tech-savvy panel of 30,000 consumers across 11 countries.

"The majority of our sample has not yet held a digital asset but 40 per cent plan to do so in 2022 and 6 per cent have already used digital assets to purchase NFTs," the survey noted.

Demand among gamers 

"A quarter of the sample identifies as keen gamers and 1 per cent as professional gamers and we know this cohort to be early adopters of crypto, with 75 per cent of our gaming respondents having already held a digital asset."

The UAE government’s efforts to promote digital finance and encourage crypto trading, including the recent Dubai Virtual Assets Regulation Law, has raised interest in digital assets, with two in three UAE residents interested in investing in cryptocurrencies within the next five years, according to another study by market researcher YouGov.

Young respondents between 25 to 34 years of age – which comprise 74 percent of the UAE respondents – are most likely to invest in cryptocurrencies, as compared to older adults, indicated data put together by YouGov.

The study combined data from multiple products in 18 international markets with specific focus on the US and Britain.

"The shift to digital continues to be the most prevalent trend in the banking and financial services industry," the report noted. "Pushed by the pandemic, financial services were forced to accelerate their plans and pivot digital at pace."