[Chaos in Cryptocurrency] "Still Doing Stocks?" 2030s Racing with Coins

Attractive Returns Lead to Reckless Investments... Using Parents' Money and Bank Loans
Serious Issue of Gambling-Like Speculative Trading

Jung Jin-young (27, pseudonym) spends the entire day glued to cryptocurrency charts. At first, the 100% gains were intriguing. Since he invested only small amounts relative to the returns, the actual profits were not large. Hoping to make big money, he eventually started investing with his parents' money as well. Jung said, "When cryptocurrency prices rise, I feel numb, but when they fall, I get anxious about losing everything," adding, "I endure the anxiety because if not now, there won't be another chance to make big money."

As the cryptocurrency market surges, more people in their 20s and 30s are becoming obsessed with crypto investments. It seems they are rushing in like moths to a flame, driven by the anxiety that it is too late to invest in real estate or stocks and that they must make money quickly through cryptocurrency. However, there are warnings that cryptocurrency investment is similar to gambling and requires caution.

The reason why people in their 20s and 30s are eyeing cryptocurrencies is that they can no longer make money through real estate or stock investments, and their current income makes it difficult to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. According to KB Real Estate Live On, the median price of housing sales in Seoul surpassed 800 million won for the first time in January. The KOSPI surged sharply at the end of last year and reached an all-time high of 3,266.23 on January 11, with little fluctuation since. From February 1 to the 19th of this month, the KOSPI rose by 7.48% over two months.

According to the employment platform JobKorea, the average starting salary for new employees at large companies this year increased by only 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year. The average starting salary for new employees at small and medium-sized enterprises actually decreased by 1.6 percentage points compared to the previous year. This is below the Bank of Korea's expected inflation rate of around 2% for this year. With salaries not rising and the opportunity to invest in real estate and stocks missed, it has become difficult to maintain an ordinary life.

As a result, many people in their 20s and 30s recently say they feel left behind if they do not invest in cryptocurrencies. This is known as the 'FOMO syndrome.' Office worker Choi Hyun-jin (28, pseudonym) said, "I started investing in January after seeing a senior at work make profits from cryptocurrency," adding, "Now, people around me urgently ask how to start investing in cryptocurrencies."

The problem is that some have begun exhibiting gambling-like behavior, such as taking out loans to invest in cryptocurrencies. Believing that cryptocurrencies will inevitably rise, they take out loans to buy more when prices fall. Jeon Sung-jin (31, pseudonym) said, "I took out a 20 million won loan to lower the average purchase price after my cryptocurrency holdings dropped," adding, "Since cryptocurrencies are currently on the rise, I believe investing will definitely make money."

Professor Hong Ki-hoon of Hongik University's Business Administration Department explained, "The biggest problem is not that investors are unaware of the speculative nature, but that they enter the cryptocurrency market precisely because of it," adding, "Government regulation is important, but investors also need to be aware of the risks of speculation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.