Survey Data Show Low-Paying Employees Opt Out Of Jobs After Crypto Business Success

JAKARTA - Data in a survey shows that some members of the low-paying workforce have quit their jobs after making a profit from the life-changing crypto business.

The analytics firm Civic Science posted the results of a survey (weighted by US census data) on November 1, which showed that 4% of 6741 respondents aged 18 and over had quit their jobs in the past year because of "financial freedom", which is gained by investing in crypto assets.

Civic then cross-referenced the 4% figure with data from 1,201 respondents based on their annual income who had quit their jobs due to crypto gains.

Nearly two-thirds of those who quit their jobs because of 'crazy gains' earn under US$50,000 per year. It consists of 27% of those who earn less than 25,000 US dollars. While 37% have a total income of between US$25,000 and US$50,000. 15% of those who do work thanks to crypto have an income between US$50,000 and US$75,000, 13% between US$75,000 and US$150,000, and only 8% earn between US$150,000 and more, in a year.

Civic Science's findings may need a bit of salt given that they cross-reference data from different time periods and varying numbers of respondents. It is also unclear what “financial freedom” means in this context, as Civic does not provide an explanation or data for the extent of crypto profits earned by respondents.

“This data implies that crypto investing may have provided a life-changing level of income for some, while wealthier crypto owners are using it more as a form of asset diversification rather than a source of income”, Civic Science wrote, as quoted by Cointelegraph.

Billionaire investor and crypto advocate Mark Cuban tweeted a link to the survey saying that: “Wow 4% of people in the US have quit their jobs due to crypto gains, and most are earning under 50K. Now we know why so many people are quitting low-paying jobs", Cuban wrote on Twitter.

Cuban appears to be referring to the "Great Resignation" phenomenon which refers to a significant labor shortage in the US due to a cultural shift resulting from people quitting their jobs in response to the global pandemic, poor wages, and unfavorable working conditions.

The results of another survey with 17,699 responses between June 17 and October 27, 2021, found that the main reason 28% of reinvested in crypto was as a long-term growth investment.

A further 23% are pursuing short-term investments while only 16% are seeking to use crypto as a payment method for “easy, fast and secure transactions.” This shows that crypto users prefer speculation overusing assets for transactions.

“In other words, more than half of the population (51%) views crypto as acting, more or less, as a traditional stock,” Civic wrote.

The poll also found that 11% of respondents aimed to hedge funds against a “harming economy,” 12% sought “independence from government” and 11% answered with “other.”