Cryptocurrency investors are more likely to be psychopaths, study finds

People who own cryptocurrency are more likely to be narcissistic sadists and psychopaths, study finds.

Cryptocurrencies, which have grown exponentially in popularity in recent years, are digital “money” that escapes the control of central banks and governments.

The global market is worth around £1.3 trillion and around five million adults in the UK have invested.

But now a study suggests that those who own online currency, such as Bitcoin, are more likely to have “dark tetrad” personality traits.

Investors are also more likely to be male, rely on fringe social media sources, believe in conspiracy theories and feel victimized, the research found.

The survey of 2,001 Americans, published in the journal Plos One, was conducted in 2022 and showed that 30 percent said they owned or had owned cryptocurrencies.

The analysis revealed that cryptocurrency ownership was linked to narcissism, psychopathy, sadism and Machiavellianism – a trait characterised by manipulation, deception and high levels of self-interest.

The researchers said: ‘While our results certainly do not apply to all cryptocurrency users, on average, we found that cryptocurrency investment and ownership tend to attract people who are more argumentative, anti-authoritarian, and prefer to get their news from non-mainstream social media sites.

“There is still much work to be done in this area, but we hope our study will help lay the groundwork for future research aimed at understanding the psychological, political and behavioural factors associated with this growing financial movement.” Experts have expressed concern about compulsive gambling with cryptocurrencies.

Last month, doctors warned that an increasing number of young men are requiring NHS treatment after becoming addicted to bitcoin trading, with the health service calling for action against “unregulated cryptocurrency sites”.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the National Health Service in England, warned that specialist NHS gambling clinics were being left to fend for themselves when patients became addicted.

Cryptocurrency investors have also been at the centre of a number of scandals. Among them, the conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried, former head of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United States for multi-million dollar fraud.

The study was conducted by a team at the University of Toronto.