Lily Klucinec (Carnegie Mellon University), Ellie Young (Carnegie Mellon University), Elijah Bouma-Sims (Carnegie Mellon University), Lorrie Faith Cranor (Carnegie Mellon University)
Prior work has shown that teenagers engage with crypto assets such as Bitcoin, NFTs, and cryptocurrency futures. However, no human subjects research has investigated teens’ interactions with these assets. Building on prior research by Bouma-Sims et al. studying teenagers on Reddit, we surveyed 143 emerging adults aged 18-20 about their most notable positive or negative experiences and harms they encountered while using crypto assets as minors. Our findings suggest that while minors were overwhelmingly motivated by profit and sometimes encouraged by family members to engage, crypto assets also filled a gap in internet payment systems, allowing minors to access digital goods without parental involvement. Engaging in crypto assets puts minors at risk for digital and financial harms they otherwise would not encounter, such as pump-and-dump scams and gambling losses. We discuss the difficulties of protecting minors from these harms in the greater landscape of crypto market regulation.