When the COVID-19 virus shut down millions of businesses and put tens of millions out of work, many of those who lost their jobs began looking for side hustles to make money. Along with freelancing and other gig work some people turned to trading cryptocurrencies. A small percentage of those folks are not planning on ever going back to work full-time due to unexpected success in the crypto space.
The CEO of the online job site CareerBuilder, Irina Novoselsky told Yahoo!FinanceLive:
"They're pulling back on the hours they're looking to work based on what's happening in the crypto market. They're making side money and no longer looking to fill full-time hours."
Reality Check
Not everyone staying home from full-time work is trading cryptocurrencies, obviously. There are many reasons people are resisting returning to the workforce full time.
- The COVID-19 virus is still spreading
- Schools are out for the summer after being remote for most of last year keeping parents at home for now
- Childcare is still very expensive and can be difficult to find
- People have found lucrative side hustles to sustain themselves
A significant number of American workers have learned to survive working part and full-time from home and are not interested in returning to the office for a typical eight-hour workday. Stagnant wages, workplace infection risks and the staggering number of freelance opportunities, along with traditional investing, are changing the way people view working for a living.
Americans Are Crypto Crazy
While cryptocurrencies are gaining in popularity worldwide, the U.S. remains solidly in the lead for people interested in and investing in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum.
Crypto investors tend to be on the younger side (under 50) and willing to risk investing in volatile blockchain currencies. They also make up the majority of those people who have cited gains trading cryptocurrencies as a reason they are not looking to return to the full-time grind anytime soon, if ever.
Despite ongoing volatility in the crypto space it is important to note that many digital coins are still up, some 20% this year, and continue to grow in value since they were created in 2009. While still panned as a trend or fad that will collapse by some in the financial world, cryptocurrencies are steadily being recognized as a legitimate form of currency and many financial experts concede it is not going away.
The fact that now approximately 14% of the adult population in this country, 21.2 million people, own cryptocurrencies certainly shows that Americans are continuing to embracing digital currency and are eager to use it.
According to Gemini crypto’s 2021 State of the U.S. Crypto Report the average age of crypto investors is in their late 30s and early to mid-40s, the majority of investors are men but that 25% of crypto holders are women.
This age range is people who are generally well-established in their careers and/or in positions of management. Their loss in the workforce will be significant if more and more Americans opt-out of traditional 9-5 jobs to work as freelancers and supplement their income with cryptocurrency trading.
