About 20 percent of cryptocurrency owners bought with credit

A survey of around 3,000 people finds some were so desperate to buy cryptocurrencies, they bought on credit.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News

Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.

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Ian Sherr

Feb. 7, 2018 1:41 p.m. PT

Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Value Goes Down : Illustration — Bitcoin has become one of the most high-profile cryptocurrencies.
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When you really want something, but don't have enough money in the bank, what do you do?

Well, for about a fifth of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, it appears they chose to buy on credit.

That's the latest revelation from roughly 3,000 people surveyed by CoinDesk, a cryptocurrency news service, for its "State of Blockchain 2018" report. It said more than 80 percent of respondents "didn't go into debt to purchase cryptocurrency." Of those that did go into debt, about half had paid it back, the survey noted.

The frenzy over Bitcoin has already become meme worthy, but this adds a new dimension to go along with talk of Bitcoin bros and the buying and selling of explicit drugs. Cryptocurrencies got an extra boost of attention in December too, when a Bitcoin's value rose above $19,000, before crashing to about $8,000 currently.

Bitcoin fans say it could potentially replace money across the world, though the US and other countries increasingly view it as an investment, rather than a form of money.