Gen Z more likely to own crypto than stocks: Survey

One in five Americans under 42 own crypto, the survey found

article-image

WindAwake/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

A newly released Policygenius survey showed that younger Americans are almost as likely to own crypto as real estate.

According to the survey, which was commissioned in October of last year, 21% of the millennials and Gen Z’ers surveyed were almost as likely to own crypto as the 20% who own real estate. 

Real estate has been a difficult market for younger generations to break into in the last few years — following a pandemic boom — as interest rates soared and median home prices made the American dream of buying a house less realistic. 

Of those surveyed, 10% of Gen X’ers said they owned crypto. Perhaps unsurprisingly, only 5% of boomers owned crypto. 

Read more: A fifth of US voters have bought crypto, Paradigm survey finds

Looking further, Gen Z is more likely to own crypto over stocks, with only 18% of the younger generation owning the latter.

One in five Americans under the age of 42, Policygenius said, own crypto.

Very few of those surveyed owned NFTs. 9% of Gen Z owned NFTs, and millennials followed with 8%. Only 4% of Gen X’ers held NFTs, higher than the 1% of boomers. YouGov, which was commissioned by Policygenius, polled 4,000 Americans 18 years or older at the time.  

Outside of crypto specifics, the survey also found that Gen Z and millennials feel “somewhat proud” of how they manage their finances. 

While the survey was conducted before the Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot bitcoin ETFs, and bitcoin hit new all-time highs, it helps to give a snapshot into how younger Americans are approaching crypto — whether the bull market is raging or not. 

Read more: Bitcoin price surges past $69K to hit new all-time high

Bitcoin (BTC), however, posted a 28% gain in October of last year, floating around $30,000. It currently trades around $70,000 and the larger crypto market sits at a $2.6 trillion market cap.

In February of last year, Coinbase found that roughly 20% of Americans own crypto, though the survey sampled only 2,000 Americans.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

An overview of the Base Ecosystem, with a focus on market leaders.

article-image

Although bitcoin hitting $120k by year’s end is looking unlikely

article-image

About 270 million HYPE has been claimed, valued around $7.6 billion

article-image

Stanford professors David Mazières and Dan Boneh will lead the lab alongside a cohort of graduate student researchers

article-image

With more companies holding BTC, bitcoin yielding strategies could become “a new corporate finance norm,” CoinShares posed

article-image

The proposal comes after Polygon governance considered a controversial use of bridged liquidity for yield

article-image

Can the community balance its decentralized ethos with the need for inclusivity and constructive debate?