Cryptocurrency and Fortnite tokens, among the most requested gifts for Christmas

American teens have included this year in their wish lists for cryptocurrency parties and V-bucks, the pledge of the famous Fortnite game. This was revealed by a consumer study for the 2018 holiday season.

The study entitled "Hollyday 2018" was published by investment firm Piper Jaffray last week. The results show that, for the first time, crypto-currencies and videogame holdings replace gift cards or traditional species, to the preference of American teenagers. This is an interesting change of mindset that may be revealing for the future of crypto-currencies such as bitcoin.

As with video games using crypto-currencies, V-buck tokens are used in Fortnite to acquire updates in the game's virtual store, as well as other benefits. Players can buy 1,000 V-Dollars for $ 9.99. The game of Epic Games has reached 200 million players this week.

It should be remembered that after the recent launch of the new season of the popular video game, a group of fans was the victim of a malicious program in order to steal information to their bitcoin portfolios. The malware was hidden in so-called "free" downloads of game benefits, free V-Bucks and sale of updates via Bitcoin Payment (BTC).

In the same way as Piper Jaffray's study, other research conducted in different cities around the world explains the growing preference of younger people for crypto-currencies.

Earlier this month, a survey in Germany found that 18- to 29-year-olds are more likely to buy cryptocurrencies. In this segment, one in three Germans is interested in investing in cryptocurrencies. In February, another study in Germany also included adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. This population showed a knowledge of bitcoin and crypto-currencies of 64%.

The same trend can be found in research conducted by venture capital firm Blockchain Capital in the United States in November. The results showed that 30% of 18- to 24-year-olds prefer to have $ 1,000 in bitcoin compared to the same amount of government debt or market debt. A higher percentage of so-called "millennia" people, about 42%, said they knew about the existence of Bitcoin.

Still in Japan, surveys conducted last April on workers aged 25 to 30 showed the trend to invest in cryptocurrencies. 14% of respondents said they had investments in cryptographic currencies between US $ 400 and US $ 9,000.

In all cases, the preference of younger people, including teenagers, for crypto-currencies contrasts with the refusal of adults over 52 years of age for this type of badet. In this group, the willingness to invest in cryptocurrencies is barely 2%, according to figures from the startup Circle.