Despite its rather dramatic decline in recent months, interest in investing in cryptocurrency is still soaring. You can now use crypto to pay for a number of goods and services including cars, computers, and insurance, so why not use it to save for a college education?
We wanted to find out if parents saving for their children’s higher education are banking on long-term crypto investments, or if this strategy is still too new and risky to be used as a serious way to save. It turns out that of the 1,250 parents we surveyed, a surprisingly large majority are investing in crypto to pay for college.
The results:
- 87% of parents who are saving for their kids’ college say they have invested in a crypto
- Despite recent crashes, 80% say they have earned money from these accounts
- More than 50% of parents believe these funds will cover at least half of their kids’ college education costs
41% Have Invested $10K+ in Crypto for Kids’ College Fund
More than four in ten parents out of the total 87% who are investing in crypto say that they have put $10,000 or more into their crypto investments with the goal of paying for their kids’ college education.
And for the vast majority, this strategy seems to be paying off, despite the crypto market plunging over the past year. 80% of those investing in crypto say their investment has grown, while just 11% say they have lost money and 9% have neither made nor lost money.
68% Say Crypto is a Reliable Long-Term Investment
When asked why they have chosen to invest in crypto to save for their children’s education, 68% of respondents say they believe it will be a more reliable long-term investment. 59% say they believe they can make more money with crypto than with traditional investments, and 34% say they feel pressure not to miss out on a potential opportunity.
24% say they are investing in crypto as an experiment to see how it performs compared to their other investments. Bitcoin remains the most popular investment with 69% of respondents, followed by Ethereum at 41% and USD Coin at 38%.
Majority Started Investing Within the Past Five Years
For the majority of respondents, the earnings from their crypto investments have come relatively quickly. 87% started their accounts five years ago or less, and of this group, 40% say their oldest child starts college in three years or less. This indicates that many parents have been able to make a dent in their children’s education expenses in a short amount of time.
Confidence in Crypto is High, But it Won’t Cover All Education Costs
When asked how much of their kids’ college expenses they believe their crypto investments will pay for, the largest group say they are expecting 50% – 75% to be covered. It makes sense then that a nearly equal percentage say it is likely their kids will still have to take out student loans. Parents aren’t relying solely on crypto to pay for college, either. 89% say that they also have additional, non-crypto-based education funds set aside for their kids.
Half Will Stick With Crypto, Even As the Market is Declining
When asked what they will do if their investment declines significantly over the next year, as is seeming more likely given the crash of many currencies, 49% of parents surveyed said they would actually invest more in crypto to take advantage of lower buying costs, while an equal percentage say they would update their crypto portfolio. 43% say they would cash out and not reinvest their money, while 35% say they would move the funds to more traditional investments.
Paying for college isn’t getting any more affordable, so it makes sense that many parents are hoping to take advantage of the booming crypto market to give their kids a financial advantage. And though most respondents report earning money from their investments and their continued confidence in crypto, the steep decline in many currency values in recent months may prove challenging.
Methodology
This survey was commissioned by Intelligent.com and conducted online by the survey platform Pollfish on June 10, 2022. In total, 1,250 participants in the U.S. were surveyed. All participants had to pass through demographic filters to ensure they were a parent to at least one child and had already started saving for their child or children’s college education.