Fun

Swiss Savers View Cryptocurrencies as Option, Now That Bank Accounts Don’t Save Them From Inflation

News Feed - 2020-02-20 10:02:17

Swiss Savers View Cryptocurrencies as Option, Now That Bank Accounts Don’t Save Them From Inflation


Cryptocurrencies are gradually becoming a viable alternative for savers in Switzerland, according to a new poll. The Alpine nation’s crypto-friendly business climate and increasing regulatory clarity makes them a relatively easy addition to investors’ portfolios. Many Swiss people can afford and regularly do put some money aside but bank accounts are no longer offering inflation protection.


Also read:Swiss Financial Watchdog Proposes $1,000 Client Identification Threshold for Crypto Transactions 13% of Young Swiss Think Cryptos Will Be More Important in the Future


For a few years now, cryptocurrencies have been gaining ground in Switzerland. The Crypto Valley in the canton of Zug has already attracted over 800 companies creating more than 4,000 jobs. The expansion of the blockchain sector facilitated by accommodating regulations has created conditions for Swiss banks to work with fintech companies and offer new crypto-related products and services to their clients. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority approved two crypto banks in August. Zug, Switzerland


Zurich-based Migros Bank has become the latest traditional financial institution to include cryptocurrencies in its scope of interests. It recently published a report on the savings behavior of various age groups that demonstrated the growing popularity of decentralized digital assets. The gathered data shows that it’s not at all unusual anymore for people to store value in cryptocurrency investments.


The survey conducted by market research institute Intervista on behalf of Migros reveals that 7% of the respondents in two age groups, 18 to 29 and 30 to 55 years old, now own cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, 13% of the younger participants believe that digital coins will become even more important for them, or state their intentions to invest in crypto in the future, compared to 7% in the second group.


Older investors are more pessimistic and remain wary of the new investment class, as Swissinfo reported this week, with only a fraction of those aged over 55 years (0.5%) expecting cryptocurrencies to appreciate and grow significantly in the long run. Yet, even in that age group, one in every 100 savers currently owns digital money.


90% of Swiss People Save Regularly, Most Put Aside up to 1,000 Francs a Month


Intervista carried out the poll online with over 1,500 respondents aged 18 and over from the German and French speaking regions of Switzerland as well as the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. The researchers established that Swiss people from all ages are good savers. For example, over 90% in the 18 to 55-year bracket and 80% of those over 55 years regularly put money aside. That’s 88% of the adult Swiss population. 67% of the young, 52% among 30 to 55-year-olds and 61% among people over 55 save up to 1,000 Swiss francs per month.


The majority of 18 to 29-years-olds still chose to use their savings accounts even for long-term purposes and a third of them keep over 70% of their funds in this type of account, despite no longer being offered protection against inflation. The policy rate set by the Swiss National Bank has been in negative territory for years and it’s currently at -0.75%. The young cite two major reasons for not switching to financial market investments – that they are not familiar with them (52%) and that there’s a limited amount of wealth they can set aside (48%). Savings interest adjusted for inflation. Source: Intervista


Many of the young Swiss are afraid of making a wrong move with alternative investments. The lack of knowledge is considered to be the greatest risk by the surveyed 18 to 29-year-olds. At the same time, these respondents are quite open to closing the knowledge gap, the authors of the study point out. 41% of them are interested to learn more about financial and investment matters compared to 37% in the 30 to 55 years segment and 32% among older participants. Curiosity is what led many to discover Bitcoin, too, and that opens another opportunity for cryptocurrencies to attract more investors, especially among young people in Switzerland.


Do you think the popularity of cryptocurrencies will continue to grow among Swiss savers? Share your expectations in the comments section below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Intervista.


Do you want to dig deeper into Bitcoin? Explore past and present cryptocurrency prices through our Bitcoin Markets tooland head to our Blockchain Explorer to view specific transactions, addresses, and blocks. Share this story: Tags in this story banks, Crypto Valley, financial market, inflation, interest rates, Intervista, Investments, Migros Bank, products, Regulations, savers, saving, Savings Account, Services, swiss, Switzerland, young, Zug Related BCH Merchant Directories Now List 4,300 Bitcoin Cash-Accepting Businesses FINANCE | Jamie Redman


Businesses around the world continue to adopt bitcoin cash (BCH) and in 2020 merchant acceptance continues to grow. Tallying up… read more. Defi Market Surpasses $1 Billion – But There’s a Catch FINANCE | Kai Sedgwick


The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance applications has surpassed $1 billion, prompting celebrations from the Ethereum community. Not… read more. Lubomir Tassev


Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Bulgaria. Quoting Hitchens, Lubomir says: ”Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.“ International politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.

News Feed

ECB Chief Christine Lagarde Downplays Bitcoin’s Risks to Financial Stability, Troubled by Stablecoins
ECB Chief Christine Lagarde Downplays Bitcoin"s Risks to Financial Stability, Troubled by Stablecoins ECB President Christine Lagarde downplays any risks bitcoin
Reddit Post Reporting Tesla’s Bitcoin Purchase From a Month Ago Was a Hoax
Reddit Post Reporting Tesla"s Bitcoin Purchase From a Month Ago Was a Hoax A Reddit post that predicted Tesla’s $1.5 billion purchase of bitcoin on Monday
Grayscale’s Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash Trusts Trade for Tremendous Premiums
Grayscale"s Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash Trusts Trade for Tremendous PremiumsThis week data from Arcane Research shows there’s been massive demand for Grayscale’s recently
Biden pressured to intervene in US citizens detention by Nigeria
Amaka Nwaokocha12 hours agoBiden pressured to intervene in US citizens detention by NigeriaThe Chamber of Digital Commerce believes that Gambaryan’s detention is arbitrary, without due process, and presents a significa
Decentralized TV Advances as Cudos Ties Up With Sator and Crypto-Themed Series “Hold on for Dear Life”
Decentralized TV Advances as Cudos Ties Up With Sator and Crypto-Themed Series “Hold on for Dear Life” As blockchain technology expands its horizons, attenti
Amazon-backed Anthropic brings Claude AI chatbot to European users
Savannah Fortis13 hours agoAmazon-backed Anthropic brings Claude AI chatbot to European usersAmazon and Google-backed AI startup Anthropic launches its powerful Claude chatbot in Europe, boasting strong language skills a
South Korean Crypto Transactions Command an Average of $7 Billion per Day on Domestic Exchanges
South Korean Crypto Transactions Command an Average of $7 Billion per Day on Domestic Exchanges An investigation unveiled a growing fever among crypto traders in
Helen Partz15 hours agoCrypto makes up 70% of South Korea’s reported overseas assets: Tax agencyOver 1,400 individuals and corporations in South Korea have reported holding $98 million in crypto overseas, which is 70%
Bank of France Governor Calls for Mandatory Licensing for Crypto Companies
Bank of France Governor Calls for Mandatory Licensing for Crypto Companies France has to adopt a licensing regime for crypto service providers, the head of the country’s central
Gareth Jenkinson3 minutes agoFireblocks, UniPass wallet tackle Ethereum ERC-4337 account abstraction vulnerabilityFireblocks assists smart contract wallet UniPass to address ERC-4337 account abstraction vulnerability.12
Overlai provides AI-resistant property rights solution for creators
Vince Quill9 hours agoOverlai provides AI-resistant property rights solution for creatorsThe mobile app and plug-in will use invisible watermarks and leverage the Aptos blockchain to ensure digital property rights regard
With Code of Conduct, Trade Group ADAM Seeks Legitimacy for Crypto
One year after its formation, the Association of Digital Asset Markets (ADAM) has drafted a code of conduct for the cryptocurrency market. The trade group has also recruited five m