A survey released by Save the Student, a UK financial advice website, unveiled a growing trend in British students investing in Cryptocurrencies . According to the study, the figure has tripled from 2% to 6% in terms of younger students that make money from virtual currencies.
The report, dubbed 'The National Student Money Survey 2021', interviewed 2,038 university students between May and August 2021, revealing that a vast majority of them face expensive living costs of almost GBP 810 monthly, which is a situation that encourages them to seek additional sources of income. “There has been a lot of media attention this year about the growing number of new investors getting involved in trading crypto, as the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a ‘boom’ in the market,” the poll noted.
However, Save the Student highlighted in the survey some findings related to the crypto investment risks, suggesting that some have expressed ‘concerns’ on younger people being amateur in the culture of investing because of the current crypto hype without fully understanding the associated risks. “With a growing proportion of students saying that they’re investing in cryptocurrencies, it’s evident that young people need to receive clear, balanced information about crypto to ensure they’re making careful financial decisions,” the study pointed out.
Coronavirus as a Critical Factor
The factor that students are eager to seek new ways to generate additional incomes aligns with one of the survey findings, which noted that the average UK student earns GBP 404 a month from their part-time job. Furthermore, just 74% of the students interviewed claimed that they had a part-time job, which is a negative figure, as it plummeted to 66% in 2021, according to Save the Student.
But, the survey highlighted that coronavirus was a major factor that influenced such numbers: “Particularly with so many businesses facing temporary, or even permanent, closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, some students who’d had part-time jobs before the pandemic were required to look for money elsewhere to make up for lost income.”
