For investors, cryptocurrencies are less complex than stocks and bonds, research says

Retail investors believe that well-established stocks and bond markets are more complex than the world of cryptocurrencies, a World Economic Forum survey released Thursday showed.

Research conducted in collaboration with BNY Mellon and Accenture showed that 29% of investors said they did not understand the nascent cryptocurrency market, while nearly 40% of investors noted that they did not understand stocks or bonds.

The survey also revealed that 70% of retail investors were under 45 years of age.

“With the global adoption and trading volumes of cryptocurrencies increasing substantially in recent years, there has been a lot of noise about it, which is likely influencing investors’ knowledge of the products,” said Meagan Andrews, Investment Lead at the World Economic Forum.

“Lower coverage of more traditional products like stocks and bonds can also have the opposite effect.”

The cryptocurrency market cap rose to $3 trillion last year, according to data platform CoinMarketCap.com, but lost nearly two-thirds of its value amid rising inflation and tightening financial conditions.

The cryptocurrency market’s peak, however, was minuscule compared to the $124.4 trillion global stock market and the even larger $126.9 trillion bond market in 2021, according to the Securities Industry. and Financial Markets Association.

A Gallup poll published in May showed that 58% of Americans said they own stocks.

The World Economic Forum’s survey of more than 9,000 individuals in nine countries also revealed that most investors are looking to build long-term wealth.

But about 40% of respondents don’t invest and said they don’t because they don’t know how to invest or think investing is too confusing.