Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Cryptocurrency, Psychology, Science
Dylan Murray
Political scientists took a deep dive into the minds of so-called 'crypto bros' to learn more about what they have in common, and the results may - or may not - surprise you.
The rise of cryptocurrencies over the past decade has led many to not only invest in the unique form of currency, but also make it a large part of their personalities.
These so-called 'crypto bros' sometimes garner a poor reputation both on the internet and in real life, often being labeled as rude by those who are not a part of the crypto community.
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This means that a recent study released by political scientists at the University of Toronto and the University of Miami into the psyche of crypto investors was either going to completely disprove the aforementioned negative public perception of crypto bros, or reinforce it.
Unfortunately for them, the research leaned more towards the latter.
The team surveyed 2,000 adults in the US, 30 percent of whom identified as crypto investors, and discovered that those who had invested in cryptocurrencies were more likely to possess the 'Dark Tetrad' of personality traits - narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism - than the average person.
Beyond that, crypto investors were also more likely to distrust mainstream media, buy into conspiracy theories, and support political extremist groups, according to the study.
This rejection of the status quo among crypto bros shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise.
One of the biggest allures of cryptocurrencies is that it is not controlled by a central bank and is far less regulated by any government or entity. Therefore, those who reject mainstream news and institutions will likely feel far more comfortable investing in crypto than those who do not.
The authors of the study explained: “The motivation behind the development of cryptocurrency was rooted in a strong distrust for mainstream, traditional currencies and financial institutions.
“A distrust of institutions and mainstream authorities is also strongly associated with characteristics such as conspiracy thinking, low levels of analytic and scientific reasoning, anti-science attitudes, the ‘need for chaos,’ and non-mainstream political orientations.”
While the team believes their findings hold weight, they also note that not every crypto investor will fall in line with their results.
Considering that millions of people invest in cryptocurrencies, it is dangerous to generalize such a large group of people across the world.
“Our results certainly do not apply to every crypto user out there,” the authors explained.
“There is still much work to be done in this area, but we hope our study helps lay the groundwork for future research aimed at understanding the psychological, political, and behavioral factors associated with this growing financial movement.”