Study Shows 32% of US Investors Admit to Trading Drunk, Crypto Investors Share Intoxicated Trade Stories

dApp Dec 10, 2022 0 110 Add to Reading List

On August 9, 2021, researchers from the magnifymoney.com blog published a report that shows 66% of investors regret impulsive investing decisions while 32% admit to trading while being drunk. While the report doesn’t get into crypto investments, drunk cryptocurrency purchases are a thing and the web is littered with stories of intoxicated crypto investors.

Survey Shows 32% of Investors Invest While They Are Intoxicated, 66% Make Emotionally Driven Investments

Researchers from the magnifymoney.com blog recently published a study that surveyed 1,116 American consumers that have an investment account. The researchers commissioned Qualtrics and the study looks at generational investors like generation Z, millennials, generation X, and baby boomers.

Magnifymoney.com’s survey indicates that 66% of investors “have made an impulsive or emotionally charged investing decision they later regretted.” The survey adds:

32% of investors have traded while drunk. This includes 59% of Gen Z investors who have bought or sold an investment while inebriated — more than any other age group.

Crypto Traders Share Inebriated Trading Stories, Term ‘HODL’ Stems From a Whiskey-Fueled Forum Post

Magnifymoney.com’s survey covers investors who have invested in traditional assets like stocks and assets traded on Robinhood. However, cryptocurrency investors also fall victim to emotional trading and purchasing digital assets while drunk. Three years ago a Redditor posted on the subreddit r/cryptocurrency and asked if anyone else bought crypto when they were drunk.

“I’ve purchased over one entire [litecoin] during the span of the last week or so, with absolutely no recollection of it until checking my email,” the Redditor said. “Luckily drunk me still understands money and bought almost all of it in the dip.”

Slate author Aaron Mak asked a female bitcoin and dogecoin trader in an interview whether or not she “actually [ended] up day-drinking margaritas today?” The female crypto trader responded and said: “I didn’t, but I did smoke quite a bit of weed in the morning—California girl at heart. I chilled out a little and took my dog on a really long walk.”

While a number of crypto enthusiasts said they bought crypto intoxicated, one person said the Redditor should “install a breathalyzer on [the] computer.” “You should start a separate drunk portfolio and track it against your regular portfolio and see what makes more money,” another individual responded to the post.

The publication Slate recently covered a story about dogecoin (DOGE) and bitcoin (BTC) investors who day trade while drinking. “I reached out to a Reddit user who posted about day-drinking margaritas to lessen her panic about investing in bitcoin near its most recent high,” Slate author Aaron Mak wrote. “A self-described ‘female investor’ who lives in New York City, she works as an actress and children’s fiction writer.”

Even the term “HODL” stems from a bitcoiner who admitted to being drunk on whiskey while misspelling the word “hold.” It was said in a post to the bitcointalk forum at 10:03 a.m. UTC on December 18, 2013, to be precise. The bitcointalk member “Gamekyuubi” wrote a post called: “I AM HODLING.” Gamekyuubi’s drunken post slang went viral and the term “HODL” has been a mainstay in the crypto community ever since.