Nearly half of young investors pushed their stimulus cash into stocks and cryptocurrency, study says

• 49% of 18-34 year-old investors have invested their stimulus money, a CNBC/Momentive study found.
• More than 25% of the total respondents said they starting investing in the past 18 months.
• 11% of people in the US invest in crypto, with the most interested in long-term growth potential.

Close to a majority of young investors who received money from the US government to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic used some of those funds to buy stocks and cryptocurrencies, according to a CNBC/Momentive survey.

49% of investors 18-34 years-old turned to stocks and digital assets in an effort to maximize their slice of the billions of dollars in stimulus money sent to most Americans by the Biden and Trump administrations after the virus began to sweep through the country in early 2020.

15% of young investors put money into individual stocks and 11% purchased cryptocurrency, according to the survey published Tuesday. Also, 9% invested in mutual funds and 8% purchased exchange-traded funds. Momentive surveyed 5,523 adults from August 4-9, and of those, 45% are investors.

More than 25% of total survey respondents said they began investing within the last 18 months, and 73% started in 2019 or earlier.

US stocks so far this year have climbed to record highs, aided by a growing number of individuals who have used so-called 'stimmy' cash to buy into dips or pullbacks in the market as prices become less expensive. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market this year has swelled to more than $2 trillion in valuation, fronted by gains for bitcoin, ether and other digital currencies.

The survey found that one in 10 people in the US invest in cryptocurrencies and 60% do so because of the potential for long-term growth.