Research Report: Cryptocurrency enthusiasts often exhibit dark personality traits such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

A study by the University of Toronto and the University of Miami indicates that cryptocurrency holders are more likely to exhibit personality traits associated with "dark" traits such as narcissism and psychopathy, prefer to obtain information through niche and fringe media, enjoy arguing, and hold anti-authoritarian attitudes.

A Study on the Psychological, Political, and Social Characteristics of Cryptocurrency Holders

This report, aimed at exploring the psychological, political, and social characteristics of cryptocurrency holders, surveyed 2,001 American adults, including 900 males and 1,101 females, with an average age of 48 years old.

Aside from providing basic information such as age, gender, income, education level, and religious beliefs, the survey also revealed their political inclinations (party affiliations, ideologies), psychological characteristics (personality traits, cognitive factors), media consumption habits (news consumption, social media usage), and their views on science, experts, and authorities.

Ownership of Cryptocurrencies Correlates with Income and Education Level

Firstly, 30% of the respondents owned cryptocurrencies, and in terms of demographic statistics and certain characteristics, cryptocurrency holders are typically young males.

Moreover, they were found to be generally associated with characteristics such as "higher education levels, higher income, and more religious beliefs."

Additionally, in terms of attitudes towards science and thinking patterns, they were found to be "more likely to accept baseless claims and believe in more conspiracy theories."

Political Inclinations are Not Prominent

In terms of political views, cryptocurrency holders exhibit mixed political inclinations and are more likely to lean towards liberalism or the Democratic Party.

However, researchers also cautioned that the data on political inclinations had a small correlation, which may not indicate strong or consistent political tendencies or connections among cryptocurrency holders.

Often Exhibit "Dark Triad" Personality Traits

Regarding personality traits, cryptocurrency holders tend to have a strong correlation with the traits of the "Dark Triad personality," including "narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and tendencies towards abuse," as well as traits like "chaos, paranoia, and schizotypal personality disorder":

These individuals place more emphasis on goals related to success, status, and achievement, while they are less concerned about helping others or common goals.

Furthermore, their correlation with negative emotions is stronger than with positive emotions.

More Likely to Use Alternative Social Media Platforms

Lastly, cryptocurrency holders tend to seek news about current events, public issues, and politics through alternative social media platforms such as Telegram, Reddit, Podcasts, Truth Social, and 8Kun:

Of course, cryptocurrency holders also obtain news from more mainstream social media platforms, albeit with a moderate correlation, including Twitter X, Instagram, YouTube, and the less relevant Facebook.

Comparatively, individuals who own cryptocurrencies rarely obtain information from traditional news media sources, with the weakest relevance to these sources.

Study: Understanding the Importance of the Underlying Reasons

In conclusion, the researchers indicated that future studies will focus on exploring the reasons and consequences behind the distrust and cynicism towards authoritative institutions in this field:

We are currently in an era where established authoritative institutions are being challenged and questioned, which may lead to negative external influences on both political institutions and financial markets; therefore, understanding the fundamental reasons behind these phenomena is crucial.