The Kids are…all investing in crypto

Paper rounds. Babysitting. Washing a neighbour’s car. Helping around the family home. Children earning cash is nothing new. But, like most industries, pocket money has gone digital.  One of the key areas for entrepreneurial kids is making money by trading crypto.

More than 1.33 million of the UK’s children have invested in cryptocurrency, according to a new report from teen neobank GoHenry.

"I started getting interested in crypto in spring 2020, said Woody, aged 16, who says he first heard about crypto from  Tiktok and Instagram, and is mentioned in the report.

"I felt that it was accessible to me as a teenager, so I did lots of research to find out how it works, before investing £250 into various coins such as BTC, ETH and XRP. Since then I’ve been accumulating and trading crypto, and making money with the ups and downs of the market. I’ve accumulated other coins, and my investment now sits at£1,200. I have taken some of the profits, but I’ve kept the majority and watched it go up,” he said.

The insights into young people's earning habits are gathered from more than 450,000 UK children and teenagers. They show that digital currencies are soaring in popularity among children.

Kids earned £148m in 2021, according to the report’s estimates, representing a 9 per cent increase in earnings per child since 2020, and more than double the average weekly wage growth for adults (4 per cent).

“It’s inspiring to see the ambition of young people when it comes to earning their own money, especially after a tough couple of years with the pandemic. The future of work is rapidly changing now that kids are growing up surrounded by people just like them, who are starting businesses from their bedrooms, and making money thanks to the explosion in digital opportunities,” said Louise Hill, COO and co-founder of GoHenry.

A quarter of kids and teens (25%) are also now earning from selling things on online marketplaces such as Etsy, Ebay, Depop and Vinted with an average monthly 'wage' of £7.34.