In the wave of the cryptocurrency market, it seems that Western youth are not as keen on trading cryptocurrencies as some groups are. Behind this, there are profound institutional, cultural, and other multifaceted reasons.
I. Improving the institutional environment: Social welfare as a solid backing
Many countries and regions in the West, such as Europe, Japan, and Canada, have established a relatively complete social welfare system. Even when encountering setbacks in career development and facing unemployment, there is no need for excessive worry. Unemployment insurance can guarantee basic living conditions to a certain extent, housing subsidies provide shelter, and the minimum living guarantee system serves as a safety net, preventing even those who have fallen from the middle class from falling into the abyss of life.
For middle-aged people who are unemployed, they can calmly apply for government assistance to alleviate economic pressure. Notably, there are also a series of vocational training programs locally to help them enhance their skills and return to the workforce. In such an environment, they do not have to gamble their hopes for life on the ups and downs of cryptocurrencies like playing a 'wheel of fortune' in a market full of uncertainties.
Moreover, the Western medical and educational systems provide strong guarantees for the public. The healthcare system achieves universal coverage, and basic medical expenses do not require the public to bear huge costs, allowing people to receive medical treatment; in terms of education, a highly subsidized system enables young people to acquire knowledge and receive education relatively easily without worrying about high tuition fees.
II. Unique cultural psychology: Risk aversion dominates life attitude
Western mainstream culture values a stable and peaceful lifestyle. In this cultural atmosphere, venture capital is often regarded as the exclusive realm of a few 'professional madmen' - that is, professionals and financial institutions. The general public, especially young people, does not see it as a conventional way to grow wealth.
Western youth tend to embrace a life philosophy of 'enjoying the moment and taking it slow.' They are passionate about traveling to explore the beauty of the world; choosing a gap year to give themselves time for reflection and growth; engaging in outdoor activities like skiing to experience the charm of nature; or traveling freely in a caravan. They enjoy the ease of life, rather than enduring the anxiety of asset losses in the cryptocurrency market, which may even lead to health problems. When the pressure from trading cryptocurrencies raises their blood pressure, they choose to buy a bottle of red wine to relax, continuing to live leisurely under the sun the next day.
III. A comparison with China: A helpless move under class and survival anxiety
Unlike the West, China's social environment subjects some groups to the dual pressures of class anxiety and survival anxiety. The period of rapid wealth growth brought about by 'housing prices + stock markets' over the past 20 years has basically come to an end, and the new channels for class advancement have become extremely narrow. A large number of middle-class reserves and urban youth who aspire to achieve class leaps have turned their attention to the risky 'digital casino' of cryptocurrencies in the context of increasingly scarce lawful pathways to rapid wealth.
In China, once unemployed, there is often no well-developed assistance system like in the West, and all they face is the pressure of mortgage repayments. This survival anxiety acts like a burning whip, constantly driving people to seek various 'quick success opportunities,' even knowing that the gambling nature of the cryptocurrency market is extremely perilous, they are still willing to take the risk.
In other countries, cryptocurrency investment is more often seen as an alternative investment choice, whereas in China, it carries the last hopes of many for class advancement. The world's most diligent miners, the most professional air coin traders, and the most persistent gamblers are mostly gathered in the Chinese-speaking community. The reason is very realistic: for them, not gambling seems to offer no hope of changing their fate; gambling may still provide a glimmer of hope. Westerners may trade cryptocurrencies out of interest, whereas for Chinese people, trading cryptocurrencies is, to some extent, a life-and-death struggle related to survival and development.
Through the analysis of the differences between China and the West, we can more clearly see that the Western youth's lack of enthusiasm for trading cryptocurrencies is the result of multiple factors, and the social realities reflected behind this are also worth our deep reflection.