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Students: Duh, of course we're blowing our loan bucks on crypto coins

Still a better investment than art school or avocado toast

University students are opting to use their student loan money to invest in cryptocurrency, rather than school.

This according to a survey this month from the Student Loan Report, which asked 1,000 college students in America if they had used their loan money to buy cryptocurrency, only to have 212 confirm.

In other words, one in five current US college university students say they're spending their student loan cash (and future debt) on crypto-coins, in hopes the currency's value will jump and sort out their money issues.

According to Student Loan Report, the money comes out of the portion of loan debt left over after tuition costs that then becomes designated for living expenses.

"Sometimes, student debtors borrow more than they end up needing for that semester of classes," the site explains.

"Once the borrower's college or university's financial aid office uses the necessary financial aid to pay for courses, they send a refund check to the borrower."

According to Pew Research, 37 per cent of adults aged 18-29 have student loan debt, with the average borrower owing around $17,000.

The survey comes as the US government is in the midst of measures aimed at reducing the risk associated with cryptocurrency investment. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made a point of targeting initial coin offerings (ICOs) as particularly risky investments, due to their susceptibility to 'pump and dump' marketing schemes. The commission has in some cases stepped in to stop or even file charges against the operators of cryptocurrency offerings.

In response, sites including Google, Facebook, and Twitter have moved to block ads for initial cryptocurrency offerings. ®

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