Do expat retirees favour bitcoin trading because they’re bored?

A shock report is showing bitcoin as this year’s best performing investment.

Cryptocurrency in general has had an exciting ride over the past several years, with bitcoin’s spectacular rise and its equally spectacular fall making and losing investor fortunes in short order. From the amazing 2017 rise to $20,000, followed by its collapse to $3,169 the following year, it’s been a roller coaster ride for adventurous investors, some of whom are expats with money in the bank and time on their hands. After the fall, those who’d lost stayed well clear, with bitcoin scraping along between $3,500 and $4,000 whilst its addicts looked elsewhere for their fixes or stayed home.

Suddenly, at the beginning of April this year, bitcoin's value skyrocketed for no apparent reason, with the cryptocurrency gaining $4,000 in just a few weeks and hitting a high of $8,833 this week before falling back to $8.183. It’s fascinating to watch, even if the average expat investor is far too sensible or scared to take the plunge, even when less famous cryptocurrencies are crawling out of the swamp and increasing in value.

Those in the know actually don’t know exactly how long this mini-boom in interest will last before the entire structure comes tumbling down again, but the fact that stock markets across the world are reacting negatively to Trump’s heavy-handed approach to China might prove a connection. Gambling in all its many forms is known to be addictive, and expats have far too much time on their hands to miss a chance to score.

Traders may be considering taking profits whilst the going is good, but markets have a habit of letting their bottoms drop out at inconvenient times. Expats, however, especially those in retirement after a lifetime in finance, have nothing better to do than gamble, with bitcoin and its derivatives the perfect way to bring excitement into lives which now seem dull.

Cryptocurrency trading as a hobby somehow resembles the various state lotteries known for making overnight millionaires when the numbers are drawn and, even although the stakes are higher, it's still a lot of fun.