Nearly two-thirds of respondents who quit their jobs after making life-changing gains from cryptocurrency had a total income below $50,000.
Data shows that some low-paid members of the workforce are leaving their jobs after making life-changing gains from cryptocurrency.
On Monday, analytics firm Civic Science released the results of a survey (weighted by U.S. Census data) showing that 4% of 6,741 respondents aged 18 and older left their jobs in the past year due to "financial freedom" earned by investing in cryptocurrency assets.
Civic then matched the 4% figure with data from 1,201 respondents based on their annual income who had left their jobs due to cryptocurrency gains.
Nearly two-thirds of those who left their jobs due to "crazy earnings" earn less than $50,000 per year - 27% of those earning less than $25,000, while 37% have a total income between $25,000 and $50,000. Meanwhile, 15% of those who quit jobs thanks to cryptocurrency had an income between $50,000 and $75,000, 13% between $75,000 and $150,000, and 8% with $150,000 or more.
Civics' findings may need a pinch of salt, given that they recommended data from different time periods and different numbers of respondents. It is also unclear what constitutes "financial freedom" in this context, as Civic provides no explanation or data on what level of crypto gains respondents made.
"These data suggest that crypto investments may have provided life-changing levels of income for some, while wealthier cryptocurrency owners use them more as another form of asset diversification rather than as a source of income," Civic Science writes.
The billionaire investor and supporter of crypto Mark Cuban tweeted a link to the study saying that, "Wow, 4% of people in the US have quit their jobs because of cryptocurrency profits, and the vast majority have made under 50k. Now we know why so many people leave low paying jobs."
Cuban is apparently referring to the "Great Resignation" phenomenon, which refers to a significant shortage of working hand in the U.S. due to a cultural shift of people leaving their jobs in response to the global pandemic, poor wages, and unfavorable working conditions.
Related: Americans who reinvested stimulus checks in bitcoin made a profit of $4,500
Another survey result with 17,699 responses between June 17 and October 27, 2021 found that the main reason 28% of respondents reinvest in crypto is as an investment for long-term growth.
Another 23% were after a short-term investment, while only 16% sought to use crypto as a method for payment for "easy, fast and safe transactions," suggesting that cryptocurrency users prefer speculation to using assets for transactions.
"In other words, over half of the population (51%) thinks crypto acts, more or less, like a traditional stock," Civic writes.
The survey also found that 11% of respondents sought to protect themselves from the "unfavorable economy," 12% sought "independence from government," and 11% responded with "other."