45% of Young Investors Own Crypto as Housing Dreams Fade: Survey

Nearly half of young American investors now own cryptocurrency as traditional paths to building wealth become harder to reach.

A new survey from Coinbase and Ipsos reveals a stark generational divide in how Americans invest their money.

The survey, which included 4,350 US adults with 2,005 active investors, found that 45% of Gen Z and Millennial investors hold crypto compared to just 18% of older investors. This 27-point gap shows how younger generations are turning to digital assets while watching traditional wealth-building opportunities slip away.

Traditional Wealth-Building Paths Are Broken

Young investors don’t think the old playbook works anymore. According to the Coinbase survey, 73% of younger adults say their generation faces harder challenges building wealth through traditional means. Only 57% of older adults share this concern.

The numbers back up their feelings. Housing has become significantly less affordable, with the Atlanta Fed’s Home Ownership Affordability Monitor showing homeownership near historic lows. Student debt keeps climbing. Wages haven’t kept pace with rising costs. These forces have pushed younger investors to look beyond the classic combination of home equity and stock portfolios.

Source: coinbase

While stock ownership remains similar across age groups—47% of younger investors versus 50% of older ones—the difference shows up in what young people add on top. They’re actively seeking ways to earn returns beyond traditional stock dividends and are willing to try new markets if it means closing the wealth gap.

Crypto Takes Center Stage in Young Portfolios

The shift isn’t just about owning crypto. It’s about how much young investors are putting into it. Younger investors allocate roughly 25% of their portfolios to non-traditional assets including crypto, derivatives, and NFTs. That’s three times the 8% that older investors put toward these alternatives.

For younger investors, crypto isn’t a side bet. It’s a core strategy. Nearly half—47%—want access to new crypto assets before they hit the general market. Among older investors, only 16% feel the same way.

Four out of five younger adults believe cryptocurrency gives their generation more financial opportunities than they would otherwise have. The same share thinks crypto will play a much larger role in future financial systems. Among older investors, only three in five agree.

Wealthy Young Investors Are Switching Advisors

The demand for crypto access is so strong that some investors are leaving their financial advisors over it. A November survey from Zerohash found that 35% of wealthy young Americans earning between $100,000 and $1 million annually had already moved money away from advisors who don’t offer crypto exposure.

This wasn’t about moving small amounts. More than half of those who switched transferred between $250,000 and $1 million to new advisors. Among investors earning $500,000 or more, half had already changed advisors specifically to get crypto access.

The Zerohash study also found that 61% of these young investors now hold digital assets, and 84% plan to increase their crypto holdings within the next year. Their confidence grew as major institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Morgan Stanley embraced digital assets—82% reported increased trust because of this institutional adoption.

Social Media Drives Investment Decisions

Where young investors get their information has changed too. The Coinbase survey found that 61% of investors under 35 now rely on social media “finfluencers” for investment guidance. YouTube serves as the dominant platform, and word-of-mouth from friends and family now matters more than recommendations from financial professionals.

This marks a complete reversal from older generations, who still primarily consult traditional financial advisors and established news sources. The shift reflects how young investors want platforms and information sources that feel native to an internet-first generation.

Not Everyone Is Jumping In

While younger investors drive crypto adoption forward, overall interest has cooled among the broader population. A December study from the FINRA Foundation found that crypto consideration among all US investors dropped from 33% in 2021 to 26% in 2024. The percentage viewing crypto as extremely or very risky rose from 58% to 66%.

However, this pullback appears concentrated among older demographics rather than the younger cohort. The FINRA study showed that risk appetite fell most sharply among all age groups, dropping from 12% to 8% overall. Among investors under 35, those willing to take substantial risks fell from 24% to 15%.

Despite this broader caution, younger investors continue trading more frequently, taking more calculated risks, and pushing platforms toward always-on operations that support wider asset ranges. They’re interested in crypto derivatives, prediction markets, 24/7 stock trading, early-stage token sales, altcoins, and DeFi lending products.

Platforms Race to Meet Demand

Coinbase is responding to these shifts by building what it calls the “Everything Exchange.” The platform aims to let users trade anything, anywhere, anytime while maintaining security, compliance, and responsible innovation standards.

The company recognizes that younger investors expect platforms built for their needs—not systems designed around limited trading hours and narrow asset selection from previous generations. As crypto adoption grows, financial services companies must decide whether to adapt or risk losing the next generation of investors.

The Bottom Line

Young investors are making crypto a central part of their wealth-building strategy because they don’t believe traditional paths work for them anymore. With 45% already owning digital assets and allocating 25% of portfolios to non-traditional investments, this shift represents more than speculation—it’s a fundamental reimagining of how a generation approaches building wealth. Whether this strategy succeeds long-term remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: younger investors aren’t waiting for permission to try something new.