A survey from the United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority indicates that new crypto investors tended to be moved by suggestions from friends, compared to equities or bond investors. 

Influence from friends and the fear of missing out (FOMO) were some of the reasons investors purchased crypto for the initial time in 2022, according to a survey by a United States financial regulator.

Issued by the United States Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation in late April, the survey set up that a large portion (31%) of new cryptocurrency investors cited “ friend suggestion ” as the primary reason for their foray into crypto. 

This is compared to solely 8% for initial-time equities or bond investors, potentially pointing that there's “ a social element to cryptocurrency enduing not evident in equities or bond investing, ” according to FINRA.

Still, the capability to “ start with small quantities ” was the alternate- the biggest reason for making a move into the crypto market at 24%, such as equities and bond investors.

Meanwhile, around 10% of the replies pointed out fear of missing out (FOMO) on a “ potentially lucrative investment opportunity ” led to them purchasing crypto for the initial time, according to the survey.

The survey also set up that 48% of crypto investors spoke they sourced data about the digital asset market from friends, family, or work colleagues compared to 35% for stock investors — followed by social media at 25%.

The survey similarly set up that newer crypto investors were slighter younger on average ( 37 years old) and lower college-educated (28.5% completed a four-year degree) compared to stock investors, who on average are 43 years old and 46.3% of whom have college degrees.

Related: Crypto becomes second-most widely owned asset class for young women: eToro survey

Interestingly, the study found that digital asset holders didn’t know as important about cryptocurrencies as they initially thought.

Digital asset investors scored 26.6% on a five-item quiz that asked questions about how a cryptocurrency is published; transferred into U.S. dollars; how it's taxed; and how deals may be “ susceptible" to fraud.

The 465 participants surveyed between Sept. 9 and Sept. 29 were randomly selected from U.S. houses. The margin of error was 6.75%. The 2022 survey was a piece of a follow-up survey from 2020.

(BRAYDEN LINDREA, Cointelegraph, 2023)