A study from The University of Queensland has revealed that those who invest in crypto currencies exhibit no interest to the feelings of those around them.
According to the results of the study, the participants showed signs of what is known as the “dark tetrad” of emotions, which consists of Machiavellianism, sadism, narcissism and psychopathy.
556 people who had all invested in crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum took part in the survey and they all displayed the same troubling symptoms.
The results were revealed by the lead author of the study and senior lecturer at the Queensland University, Dr Di Wang on channel 10.
Dr Wang explained the link behind high interest in crypto currencies and the exploitation of others lies within the “dark tetrad”.
“Dark tetrad traits are ‘dark’ because of their ‘evil’ qualities: Extreme selfishness and taking advantage of others without empathy,” said Dr Wang.
“The dark tetrad are also often related to risk-taking behaviours.”
“To them, perhaps both the pleasure from seeing another’s pain and the fear of missing out are related to selfishness.”
Within the study, Dr Wang and his fellow researchers also found two of the main reasons that make investments in crypto currencies so enticing.
The first has to do with a sense of risk that comes with it.
“We identified two main areas of appeal. First, the high risks and high potential returns of crypto trading make it attractive to the kind of people who like gambling.”
The second was tied to the fact that crypto currencies are highly unregulated, which gives investors a feeling of operating outside legal bounds.