I'm skeptical of the source and methodology. I think the sentiment is right, but this sounds inflated. "48% of males?" Come on now...
Because it's the currency of young people who prefer freedom over mortgage. While older people who went through this whole financial struggle of getting a low paid job, renting a flat, then finally being able to get a house and paying off that house for 20+ years, tend to think that this is how life should be, the younger generation sees them struggle and wants a better life. Life where work is taking only a couple hours a day and you don't have to ask the bank for permission to use your money.
But where is their money going to come from? As a millennial, I observe stagnant wages and declining benefits (replaced by contract jobs). What's Bitcoin got to do with only working a couple hours a day? Is that because we're assuming 1 BTC will be worth millions of USD someday?
Benefits should in fact be declining as this is a sign of a more healthy economy that steers away from all this socialist nonsense. Obamacare and the European migration crisis are prime examples of such nonsense.
I guess there is some confusion about definitions.
Benefits refers to employer-provided incentives (health insurance, retirement contributions, etc.) that employers use to incentivize employees and reduce turnover. There is nothing "socialistic" about them; they are essentially value added by employers on top of wages paid. Nothing to do with government.
The point is that as employer-provided benefits become a thing of the past, effective wages decline.
This working a couple hours a day, preferably from home, is the new trend among young people. Nobody wants to spend whole day sitting at a desk in a crowded room. People are looking for ways of making money that did not exist 20 years ago. Some examples? Live streamers, youtubers, social media influencers, crypto advertisers, professional computer gamers. I believe cryptocurrencies are and will be popular among these people regardless of whether it reaches 1 million or not.
I agree, the employment landscape is rapidly changing. However, I don't believe those occupations (on average) pay middle class incomes in developed economies, and certainly not at 2 hours a day. What I'm seeing in the United States is a new generation of adults who either live with their parents or depend on their parents for income.