Cryptocurrency is like Marmite – you either love it or hate it . But nearly
one in five UK adults now has exposure to the asset class , and many are new to the party . During the pandemic , people with limited investing experience bought into the social media hype and dived into crypto for the first time . It is estimated that
14 % even borrowed money to do so . While there ’ s nothing inherently wrong with dabbling if you know what you ’ re doing and can afford to lose money , this isn ’ t the case for many crypto investors . Last year , the FCA said that while public awareness of crypto assets had risen , understanding had fallen . If someone you love has joined the cult of crypto , what can you say to convince them that a volatile , speculative asset may not be the best place to put their savings ? To answer this , you first need to understand its appeal .
Get rich quick Bitcoin ’ s meteoric rise sold people a dream of overnight wealth . The original cryptocurrency was priced at $ 1 per coin in 2011 , reaching an all-time high above $ 68,000 at the end of last year , with more than one violent price crash of 80 % or more along the way . Today , Bitcoin is trading at around $ 21,000 per coin . “ People have been lured by the promise of making a fast buck ,” says Susannah Streeter , senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown . “ It ’ s an unregulated space and it ’ s been very hard to counter the promises being made , and that ’ s why so many people have jumped into the crypto world without knowing they were going to be taken for this really wild ride .” The ease of trading crypto using apps has been a major contributor to
/ 34 / trustnet . com