Hong Kong Investment Commission: Male virtual asset investors tend to make confident speculative bets, while female investors are more cautious and likely to follow trends.

According to Odaily, the latest follow-up study commissioned by the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) of Hong Kong and conducted by the Department of Applied Social Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University shows that the herd behavior and emotional trading tendencies among Hong Kong virtual asset investors have significantly decreased compared to 2022, but various behavioral biases remain widespread, with the "herd cautious type" still representing the largest investor cohort. The research surveyed around 1,000 virtual asset investors from November to December 2025 and will announce its results at the IOSCO Retail Investors Committee seminar in June 2026. Data indicate that among Hong Kong virtual asset investors, the score for blindly following market transactions dropped from 3.63 to 3.19, while the imitation of market behavior and trend chasing have both receded, demonstrating that after the implementation of the 2023 virtual asset trading platform regulatory regime, investment activity has become generally more rational.

However, the study also points out that multiple behavioral biases remain significant, including reliance on past experience (3.86), FOMO sentiment (3.77), the disposition effect (3.68), gambler’s fallacy (3.66), and authority dependence (3.63), indicating that emotion and information still play a deep role in investment decision-making.

In terms of investor categories, the "herd cautious type" accounted for the largest share at 33.9%, mainly among younger investors aged 18 to 29, with the highest proportion of females among all types (43%). Their key characteristic is being easily influenced by market sentiment and tending to become more cautious after incurring losses. Next is the "hold through losses type" (25.5%), mostly mid-level professionals aged 30 to 39, who tend to hold onto their investments for the long term after losses, waiting for a rebound.

In addition, the "confident risk-taker type" accounts for 22.2%, dominated by highly educated, high-net-worth males, who are prone to overconfidence and increasing high-risk allocations; the "afraid of missing out type" makes up 18.4%, characterized by relatively substantial assets but frequent trading, strongly driven by FOMO sentiment.

Choi Wing-hong, Chair Professor at the Department of Applied Social Sciences at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, stated that the virtual asset market is greatly influenced by social media and information dissemination, and investors’ behavioral patterns are complex and diverse. He emphasized the need to incorporate behavioral science into investor education to enhance rational decision-making amid market volatility.