According to a study conducted by a professor at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, more young people are getting involved in investing in and trading cryptocurrency, despite skepticism of its sale and usage.
According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, cryptocurrency acts as a digital token and currency, allowing individuals to make payments to one another through an online system.
Published March 18, Jaron Wilde, one of three researchers on the study and the director of graduate studies and an accounting professor at the college, said he himself is neither for nor against cryptocurrency, but instead wanted to study the process by which people report their earnings from the digital currency to the IRS.
Wilde said the study used anonymous Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, data to observe trends of cryptocurrency stock traders over eight years.
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While studying IRS cryptocurrency reporting behaviors, the study, which used anonymous IRS data from 2013 to 2021, found the average age of a cryptocurrency seller dropped from 45 to 34-years-old over the eight-year span.
According to a 2026 report from security.org, a site specializing in digital safety products, about 32 percent are between the ages of 30 and 44, with 30 percent of Americans owning some form of cryptocurrency.
The report also found that 19 percent of owners are between the ages of 18 and 29.
With that decrease in average age, the study also noted that the average taxable income of those sellers dropped from $296,000 to $94,000, a decrease of over two-thirds of the original average.
Wilde said the value of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, the first digital currency, stems from the value applied to it by cryptocurrency traders and sellers.
“The value of Bitcoin lies in what people perceive its value being,” Wilde said. “There’s not a unique value like U.S. dollars. That doesn’t mean that there is not value.”
According to CoinDesk, an information services company that specializes in cryptocurrency, the price of one “share” of Bitcoin on May 7 at 3 p.m. was over $80,000. Just 12 hours prior, at 3 a.m.., the price was over $81,500 for one share.
Timothy Ku, second year finance and accounting student and president of HawkTrade, a University of Iowa investment club, said he doesn’t view cryptocurrency as one of those “solid” investments because of the volatility that surrounds it.
“I’m highly speculative, and I believe that it’s a fraudulent system,” Ku said. “I don’t believe that crypto is a good investment. I would tend to say it’s the most volatile and high-risk asset class out there.”
According to Fidelity, an American financial services corporation, cryptocurrency can be very volatile, with the price of Bitcoin sometimes rising and dropping by 10 percent in one day. The reason for this volatility stems from the lack of cash flow or industrial use associated with cryptocurrency, making it difficult to determine their value.
Ku said as the leader of the club, he has influence over the talking points and advice the club gives to members.
“The curriculum overall is pretty influenced by the president’s current personal views,” Ku said. “I personally believe that you should invest in good businesses that are solid and have strong fundamentals.”
During his time at HawkTrade, Ku said nobody has ever questioned his skepticism for cryptocurrency, and those who do have positive or neutral views of the digital currency are usually willing to hear him out.
“No one has opposed me at this moment in terms of my personal view,” Ku said. “I tend to say that HawkTrade, as a standard investment club, tends to attract people like me.”
Looking at the data indicating cryptocurrency traders and sellers are getting younger, Ku said this trend stems from people viewing cryptocurrency as a fast and easy way to wealth.
“I believe a lot of people want this get-rich-fast type of mindset where maybe they’re trying to invest in something to quickly make their money to collect their returns,” Ku said. “A lot of these investors should have long-term mindsets, not holding it for a couple months. You should be holding this realistically one, five, 10 years to build a stronger retirement for yourself.”
Ku said the allure of investing in cryptocurrency comes from stories people hear online of cryptocurrency investors making millions. However, he said the outcome of that happening is a long shot for most investors.
For young people looking to invest efficiently and responsibly, Ku said to invest in public companies they have trust in.
“You should look at the underlying fundamentals,” Ku said. “What I mean by that is look for the business, not for the stock performance itself or whatever the market noise is saying.”
