Anyone who has followed Bitcoin’s rollercoaster ride in the investment market knows about its volatility. But that’s not stopping many people from rolling the digital dice, including many millennial investors. The cryptocurrency service continues to gain popularity.
WBFO hit the streets to see what millennials are saying. Justin Karcher, 32, of Buffalo, isn’t surprised by Bitcoin’s allure.
"I’m assuming it’s perfect for millennials, and Generation Y, since it’s something that’s kind of off the beaten path,” said Karcher.
Rochester resident Andre Cash also talked with WBFO during a recent visit to Buffalo. Cash believes Bitcoin’s volatility as an investment will undermine its growth.
“I don’t think anybody’s really going to trust it anymore,” said Cash.
But a business attorney who closely tracks the cryptocurrency industry disagreed with this somberassessment. Friedman, a partner with Impact Capital, a local venture capital firm, calls it “an exciting new frontier.” He predicted that even with Bitcoin’s ups-and-downs in value, cryptocurrency will stabilize as it becomes better understood.
“I think as the world continues to get comfortable with the concepts of digital assets and the digital world, it will increasingly become part of the norm in our society.”
Friedman added that cryptocurrency can be an attractive investment for people who don’t have significant resources to invest.
“The millennials are focused on a way to begin investing with a modest amount of money, small increments, which is often not easy or possible for them to do with stocks and bonds,” he said. “They’ve grown up around technology, and the only difference between investing in cryptocurrency is that it’s a digital form of currency.”