What's love got to do with it?

A rollercoaster of emotions could be driving poor crypto behaviour.

The Hollywood portrayal of romantic love is a potent mix of excitement, hope, fear, and delight. The thrill of the chase, the possibility of rejection and loss, and the validation felt when mutual-connection sparks fly – it’s a rollercoaster of emotions that we are all drawn to and want to experience.

Interestingly, the emotions we feel with romantic love are not too dissimilar to those seen in crypto enthusiasts. This begs the question – are people ‘in love’ with crypto, and does the blindness we see in the heat of relationships also manifest in crypto traders? Is crypto love blind? The truth is, yes, the emotional states of fear, hope, delight, and excitement all play pivotal roles in influencing the judgement and decision-making of people in the cryptocurrency market, just as they do in the dating market.

Of all three emotions – fear, hope/delight, excitement – it is fear that has the most significant influence, such as the fear of losing money or the fear of missing opportunities. The presence of fear can lead to panic selling during market downturns, exacerbating price declines. Research indicates that fear and worry are more prevalent in traders when more rational risk-control measures such as stoploss orders are not applied, highlighting the emotional impact of market volatility.