According to a survey carried out by South Korean central bank the Bank of Korea (BOK), young citizens in their 20s and 30s are not only familiar with cryptocurrencies, but are also willing to invest in them amidst the country’s digital currency frenzy, local news outlet Yonhap reported Tuesday, March 27.
The BOK’s survey showed that 21.6 percent of the 2,511 respondents are aware of digital currencies.
Within this 21.6 percent, the percent of awareness for respondents in their 20s and 30s, increased to 29.4 percent and 40.3 percent respectively. Going further, the percent of those who are eager to invest in crypto was 24.2 for those in their 20s, and 20.1 percent of respondents in their 30s.
As for the more senior population, the numbers are notably smaller. Only 5.7 percent of people in their 60s and 2.2 percent of those in their 70s said they have heard about cryptocurrencies, while 6.8 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively, claimed they would invest in crypto.
In October 2017, the BOK’s governor Lee Ju-yeol stated that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) would be regulated as a commodity in the country, rather than as a currency:
“It is difficult to look at [virtual currencies] as money by [the definition] of Bank of International Settlements (BIS). Regulation (of virtual currencies) is appropriate because it is regarded as a commodity. It [cannot be] regulated at the level of a currency.”
Recently, Cointelegraph reported that 21.2 percent of US college students have used loan money to fund cryptocurrency investment, while crypto industry employees prefer to be paid in crypto.