Generations adapt to change differently. That is particularly true when it comes to anything financial. Different generations approach risk, investment, new technology, and spending in various ways: millennials have embraced credit cards above other generations; baby boomers are proportionally much bigger spenders; and Gen Z favors cash-back schemes more than any other generation.
These behaviors and how generations adapt are integral to understanding how the crypto industry might change and develop. Some interesting assumptions also need to be challenged. If we stereotype how each generation interacts with money, then the crypto industry will miss opportunities and risks. For instance, it’s often assumed that Generation Z, those who grew up from a young age with digital payments and instant transactions, would have said goodbye to cash. In fact, they’re one of the leaders in cash usage.
The same is true of crypto. While it may be an easy assumption that Gen Z and the generations that come after will be the main audience for crypto, we have to consider that older generations are currently the daily users of the blockchain, and they are also the ones regulating the industry, integrating it into existing institutions in a way that it hasn’t been before.
This blog breaks down the typical usage and recent trends in crypto for every generation, using the Pew Research Center as our reference for defining the dates of each.
Baby Boomers, 1946-1964
Baby boomers, in the US alone, control around $68 million in assets. Their behaviors can change the market. The crypto industry has a reputation for being driven and dominated by the younger generations. Boomers, however, are a surprising portion of the crypto market.
This has been a recent change - until the last couple of years, boomers were almost exclusively interested in safe-haven and long-term assets such as gold. As of 2024, according to the asset management firm deVere Group’s survey, 45% of baby boomer investors now favor Bitcoin over gold.
A large factor in this increasing interest and acceptance of crypto has been attributed to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This has had a significant impact on the market because boomers hold the most wealth of any generation, and this possibility of diversifying from traditional assets with something that has been regulated at a government level makes them an attractive proposition.
The amount of Bitcoin assets held is smaller than gold or other traditional assets, but the rise is significant. It has taken boomers more time to understand the technology and adjust their investment behaviors, but the reputation of Bitcoin has assured cautious boomers that digital assets are not the wild west that they once were. They are in a unique position to benefit and interact with crypto because they hold significant wealth to explore multiple options, and the recent developments in spot Bitcoin ETFs are adding legitimacy to anyone looking to move into the market.
Generation X, 1965 - 1980
Generation X is currently younger than 60 years old, and older than 40. They are the generation most commonly in positions of power, whether as a CEO or a political leader, and 95% of them still use Facebook.
They are outnumbered when it comes to cryptocurrency buyers, accounting for only a small percentage in terms of actual numbers. Like baby boomers though, Gen X is purchasing larger amounts of crypto on average than millennials and Gen Z. When they buy crypto, they go big - and are more likely to make crypto profits than any other generation. A 2022 survey showed that only one demographic hit double-digital percentages for making crypto profits worth at least $50,000 and that was Gen X. 12.5% of crypto investors, to be precise, were Gen Xers that took home those levels of profits, compared to less than 5% of millennials and less than 8% of Gen Zers.
Much like baby boomers, Generation X may not make up a lot of the crypto economy in terms of sheer numbers. But what they invest, and how they do so, make a significant impact on the ecosystem.
Millennials, 1981-1996
A recent YouGov survey demonstrated that millennials, along with Gen Z, dominate the crypto market in Europe: around 25% of millennials across Europe own crypto. That’s a pattern that’s repeated globally. There is plenty of data to show that millennials are the proving ground for many trends and new movements in crypto. After all, this is the only generation just as likely to own crypto investments as they are real estate.
Millennials are technologically savvy, having grown up with major technology developments that we utilize today, and are dubbed the ‘digitally native’ generation. They also have a healthy mistrust of traditional financial institutions, having seen several financial crises and felt the impacts of inflation at crucial stages in their financial lives. This generation also has a lot of community and peer influence through social media and online spaces, where marketing and influencing of crypto have the biggest impact. Because of this, millennials are very open to the idea of crypto and blockchain assets. They are also strong drivers of trends and new startups in the space, leading innovation in crypto more than any other generation.
Generation Z, 1997-2010
The youngest of Gen Z are older teenagers who are just starting to open up junior bank accounts, or able to spend pocket money independently with parent-adjacent accounts or cards. Older Gen Zs are now firmly in the job market and experiencing the pressures of a currently volatile financial market. This is a generation that’s slated to be enthusiastic, native adopters of crypto. Like millennials, they are active crypto buyers, seeing the blockchain as a valid alternative to traditional stocks and shares. Many have an affinity with the anonymous, independent nature of crypto, and the potential is there for the generation to even surpass millennial usage.
There are a lot of questions and unknowns about Gen Z. Their patterns and behaviors have not been around long enough to pin down, and enthusiastic usage of crypto does not necessarily reflect what their drivers and future moves may be. However, the signs there are. Gen Z is more likely to own crypto over stocks, their ‘nihilistic’ tendencies are better suited to crypto and digital assets than practical and experienced baby boomers, and they are more financially savvy at a younger age than any other generation. The industry must meet Generation Z as they grow and find their space in the crypto ecosystem.
Generational Alpha, 2010-2024
The oldest generation Alphas are just entering their teens, so we have yet to see how they will grow into crypto. By the time they begin to enter adulthood, it will be 2029, so there will be a number of differences in the crypto landscape that are hard to predict five years out. Early indicators show that Gen Alpha will be screen-focused, social media-dependent, and have jobs that don’t currently exist. But to ignore Gen Alpha now will mean being left behind when they start to become adults.
A recent article in Money Digest quoted a social analyst as saying that Generation Alpha is already a strong economic force: ‘They are spending money and in significant amounts. Not only that, they influence parental purchasing decisions in a significant way’.
Understanding how Gen Alpha will continue to exert that spending power, and then wield it themselves, will shape the future of crypto in the next ten to fifteen years.
No generation left behind
No generation should be discounted when it comes to how they shape and utilize the crypto industry - with perhaps the exception of ‘the silent generation’, those born between 1925 and 1945, and Generation Beta, who will be being born next year. From baby boomers to Gen Z, we need to be aware of their impact on the market and how they adapt to new innovations. The crypto industry is vast, and there will always be space for every generation to find their niche. How all of those generations interact together, however, in the wider crypto ecosystem, will be key for businesses and regulators to understand.
In 1994, the first online payment was made through a company called First Virtual Holdings. In 2024, online transaction values are projected to reach US$11.53 trillion. In those thirty years, we saw the first Bitcoin transaction in 2010, an NFT sell for $91.8 million to 29,983 people, and the first AI to AI token purchase. The next thirty years will be shaped by every generation alive today.
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