67 percent of investors have not sold their bitcoin: survey

The price of bitcoin has risen dramatically since the start of the year. A recent study conducted in November covered by LendEDU details the responses from 564 poll-takers. Of those, 67.38 percent said they have not sold any of their bitcoin investments amid surging bitcoin prices.

On average, investors owned US$2,930.85 in bitcoin, according to the study. At the time of the survey completion, the price per bitcoin was US$6,940.

While 16.49 percent of these owners plan to sell within a year, and 39.5 percent of the owners would sell it in one to three years, 21 percent plan to hold the cryptocurrency for at least seven years.

“This data is clear in showing that a significant number of investors are in it for the short term,” wrote LendEDU in the report.

Asked at which price the participants would sell their holdings, the average of the amounts cited came out at US$196,165.79 per bitcoin.

Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high Monday above the US$8,000 mark after a wild week for the cryptocurrency. As at 11:19 a.m. on Nov. 21 (Hong Kong Time), bitcoin was trading at US$8,084.37, according to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index.

Among the participants, 40 percent said they invested in bitcoin because they believe it is “a world-changing technology”. About 21 percent said bitcoin is “a long-term store of value, like gold or silver”, with roughly 15 percent of those saying they bought in because a friend or family member recommended it.

Those who said they think bitcoin’s price is “too low” accounted for 14 percent of respondents. Just 8 percent said they planned to use bitcoin as a payment method for transactions and less of an investment.

The poll was conducted online from Nov 9 to Nov 13. A total of 564 American consumers aged 18 and up were polled.

LendEDU is a marketplace for student loans, student loan refinancing and personal loans, as the company claims on its website.

The latest survey followed two others from September and October, which indicated that younger people are becoming increasingly aware of bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies.

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