Social media users more likely to invest in digital assets: study

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Social media users are more likely to invest in digital currencies, a new study by the University of Georgia (UGA) has found.

The study found that nearly 50% of the respondents who constantly used social media had invested in digital assets. Additionally, the more a respondent used social media, the more likely they were to have invested in digital assets. Only 10% of the respondents who didn’t use social media had invested in digital currency. 

The study also found that the choice of social media platform determined the likelihood that a user would invest in digital assets. X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Reddit users were the most likely to own digital currency. Meanwhile, Instagram
users were the least likely to invest.

The researchers behind the study believe this was because Twitter and Reddit allow their users to engage in longer discussions about digital assets. On YouTube, influencers create videos that break down the tokens and demystify investing. However, Instagram focuses on images, which digital currency isn’t optimized for.

“A lot of people talk about cryptocurrency on social media and how popular it has become. There are a lot of celebrities talking about this. People are thinking, ‘Because my friends, families and the celebrities I admire all invest in that, maybe I should too,’” commented Lu Fan, an associate professor at the UGA’s College of Consumer Sciences. 

The UGA study is the latest to establish a connection between digital asset investment and social media usage. In an earlier study, researchers from Pennsylvania State University found that “social media sentiment significantly predicts crypto returns, while sentiment from news media does not.”

A separate report by Bitget exchange found that Telegram had played a primary role in Africa’s digital asset revolution. The report revealed that ‘crypto-focused’ groups on Telegram shot up 189% in 2024 and that most newbies were encouraged to dive into interacting with other enthusiasts on these groups.

While social media has been a force for good for the most part, it has also been manipulated to sway markets, with retail investors left holding the short end of the stick. Some, like Elon Musk, have mastered the art of influencing ‘crypto’ through their tweets. Even the new American president, Donald Trump, has aped in, unveiling his new meme coin on social media just days before his inauguration and pushing it to a $15 billion market cap on Monday.

Watch: Adaptable blockchain system to tackle real-world problems