Young Belgian investors still believe in crypto

Young Belgians continue to believe in cryptocurrencies, according to ING's Investment Barometer. The bank's investor sentiment poll shows that up to 40 per cent of Belgian investors younger than 35 would consider buying crypto coins in the first half of the year.

Some 41 per cent of young investors polled already have crypto coins in their portfolios. 2022 was a very eventful year: the value of the crypto market collapsed and trading platform FTX declared bankruptcy. 

Still, young Belgians continue to have faith in crypto currencies' potential. Some 40 per cent are considering buying crypto coins in the first six months of 2023. This confidence is a lot weaker among older generations: only 8 per cent of them believe cryptocurrencies will be a worthwhile investment in 2023. Some 39 per cent of investors think Bitcoin will still exist in 10 years, and 33 per cent think it will not. 

Several Belgian agencies previously warned about the pitfalls of fast-paced crypto investments, including Belgium's National Bank, stock market watchdog FSMA and banking federation Febelfin. A mid-2022 Febelfin study showed that many young people's investment knowledge is lacking. 

Overall investor confidence seems to be improving slightly for the second month in a row, ING observes. Real estate is considered the most interesting investment in 2023 by almost a third of survey respondents. 

^{© Ozan KOSE / AFP}