
Investing firm Alto recently surveyed adults based in the United States to find out their preferences in investing. The results show that more millennials aged 25 to 40 are investing in crypto than in mutual funds.
The report, dubbed “How Millennials See Their Financial Future,” reveals that nearly 40% of millennial respondents have invested in cryptocurrencies. According to the report, this is “greater than the percentage of millennials who own mutual funds.” Moreover, the percentage is almost equal to those millennials who own stocks.
The report also notes that most millennials either already own crypto or are considering buying . However, Alto founder and CEO Eric Satz said that current conditions make it hard for them to consider investing. He explained:
“In a world of conspicuous consumption, soaring living costs, and mounting student loan debt, millennials find it difficult to invest for the future because they are struggling to afford the present.”
Meanwhile, survey participants currently holding crypto mentioned that they are likely to add crypto to their retirement portfolio. The report highlights that 70% of millennials who own crypto and have an individual retirement account hold their digital assets in their IRA.
Earlier in June, another survey showed that high-net-worth individuals are also embracing crypto. According to the “World Wealth Report,” 71% of wealthy participants have invested in digital assets such as crypto, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and exchange-traded funds.
The same month, a report from research firm Blockware Intelligence showed that Bitcoin (BTC) adoption might surpass the adoption rate of other technological disruptions such as smartphones, the internet and social media.
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Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has added to its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, reaffirming CEO Michael Saylor’s bullish outlook on the digital asset despite its recent struggles.
In a Form 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microstrategy disclosed that it had acquired an additional 480 BTC at an average price of roughly $20,817. The total purchase amount was $10 million in cash.
With the purchase, MicroStrategy now holds 129,699 BTC, making it the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. The total value of its holdings is roughly $3.98 billion.
The business intelligence firm is scooping up Bitcoin during a period of extreme market volatility. On Wednesday, Bitcoin’s price briefly dipped below $20,000, which is more than $10,000 lower than the company’s average acquisition price. The company’s BTC stash is currently sitting at a net unrealized loss of nearly $1.4 billion, according to data provided by Bitcoin Treasuries.
Michael Saylor, the firm’s CEO, remains bullish on Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. Earlier this month, he told his 2.5 million Twitter followers that the firm plans to “HODL through adversity” and has no plans to offload its holdings. The bullish reaffirmation came amid rumors that the company risked a margin call if Bitcoin’s price fell below $21,000. According to Saylor, the margin call rumor is a “nothing issue.”
MicroStrategy reported first-quarter revenues of $119.3 million. Gross profit for the quarter was $93.6 million.
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With rumors of insolvency flying high among crypto firms such as Celsius and Three Arrows Capital, investors couldn't help but ask a simple question: What happened to all the funds that were supposedly under "safe custody?" As it turns out, a small fraction of crypto firms began leveraged trading with customers' deposits to deliver promised high APY returns on supposedly fixed-income instruments. Things worked out well when the market was thought to have endless potential.
However, as token prices plunged, such firms simultaneously suffered heavy losses on their positions and an increase in withdrawal requests as investors rushed to protect their capital. The combination of selling pressures led to lower coin prices and the likely obliteration of investors' initial principal as firms allegedly became insolvent.
Not all asset custodians took enormous risks with clients' deposits during the bull market in an attempt to attract more capital. At the European Blockchain Convention in Barcelona, Cointelegraph news editor Aaron Wood spoke to Bit.com's business development lead, Leslie Hsu. Bit.com is a centralized crypto exchange launched in March 2020 in Seychelles. Here's what Hsu had to say:
"So at Bit.com, we actually use a third-party custody service. Once all assets are in custody, the exchange won't use your money or clients' assets for tasks like margin trading."
However, Hsu explained that due to a concept known as regulatory arbitrage, it would be difficult for administrative bodies to crack down on supposed bad actor custodians that take unreasonable risks with clients' capital. "Different countries all have different regulations. For example, like in the U.S., they only allow U.S. domiciled entities to trade over there. Right now, there's no single piece of international legislation covering all potential crypto-related issues." In some jurisdictions, gambling laws even take precedence over administrative rules when it comes to regulating digital assets.
At another panel, Cointelegraph's managing editor Alex Cohen spoke to Michael Lau, global head of sales at regulated crypto exchange Bullish. For Lau, the issue of trust not only comes in the ability to create services but also in how one executes them, explaining:
"From our perspective, we decided we would be regulated one day. So then there's an element of accountability, right? Someone is actually auditing our inner workings and making sure that we can actually fulfill the promises we are making."
Lau shared that when he first joined the industry in February 2020 after a career in traditional finance, he was surprised at the high level of retail involvement for digital assets. "I remember the New York Stock Exchange is only about 20% retail, and the Chinese Stock Exchanges were around 40% retail, but I really looked at crypto, and it was all retail with very few institutions in it."
But Lau said that he is rather satisfied with the continued demand for regulation in the industry. "There's a certain level of professionalism and accountability demanded of fund managers. As an investor, I want to know that I'm going to be protected. I want to know that the fund manager follows the rules. I want to make sure that there's proper segregation of assets. So we've noticed a lot more demand for regulation as of late."
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This Daily Dose was brought to you by Cointelegraph.