Original title: State of Crypto Q4 2025: Younger investors are rewriting the investing playbook
Original source: Coinbase
Original translation by Chopper, Foresight News
For decades, the path to wealth accumulation for Americans has remained largely unchanged: find a good job, buy property, invest in stocks, and then wait for the returns to compound over time. However, our latest Cryptocurrency Industry Report shows that a new generation of investors no longer believes in this traditional path and is adjusting their investment behavior.
To understand the market strategies of different generations and the role of cryptocurrency in their portfolios, Coinbase partnered with Ipsos to conduct a special survey, interviewing 4,350 U.S. adults, including 2,005 investors with investment accounts. Key findings include: Young investors, such as Generation Z and Millennials, are more likely than any previous generation to actively manage their investments, are more open to non-traditional assets, and are more likely to view cryptocurrency as a core component of their personal financial future.
A generation shut out of the traditional wealth ladder
Young investors are far more optimistic about the economy than their parents, but they believe the existing financial system is not designed for them. Survey data shows that nearly 70% (73%) of young people say that compared to their parents, their generation faces greater difficulty in accumulating wealth through traditional means; while only 57% of older generations share this view.
They have witnessed firsthand the soaring housing costs, mounting student debt, and sluggish wage growth. Against this backdrop, more and more young people are seeking alternative ways to accumulate wealth beyond the traditional model of "net worth plus a stock portfolio."
The proportion of non-traditional asset allocation is three times that of the older generation.
This anxiety is directly reflected in their asset allocation strategies. Research shows that young investors allocate 25% of their portfolios to non-traditional asset classes such as cryptocurrencies, financial derivatives, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other emerging products. This is three times the proportion of older generations of investors, whose non-traditional asset allocation is only 8%.
While stock holdings are roughly equal across different generations, the key difference lies in the fact that younger investors are diversifying their portfolios beyond stocks. They are more actively seeking returns beyond traditional stock dividends and are more willing to try various new investment tools and emerging markets in order to narrow the wealth gap.
Cryptocurrency is not a side investment, but a core asset.
This generational shift in investment philosophy is most evident in the acceptance of cryptocurrencies. The report shows that 45% of young investors already hold cryptocurrencies, compared to only 18% among older investors. Furthermore, nearly half (47%) of young investors want to be among the first to experience new crypto assets before the mainstream market; in contrast, only 16% of older investors share this desire.
In the eyes of the younger generation, cryptocurrency is far from being a mere speculative transaction; rather, it represents a crucial pathway to wealth accumulation. Eighty percent of young people believe that cryptocurrency offers their generation more financial opportunities beyond the traditional financial system; furthermore, another eighty percent firmly believe that cryptocurrency's role in the future financial system will significantly increase. In contrast, only about 60% of older investors share this view.
The younger generation's enthusiasm for exploring emerging markets extends beyond spot cryptocurrencies; they also crave exposure to more non-traditional assets. Data shows that 80% of young investors are willing to be among the first to try new investment opportunities, compared to less than half of older generations. Young investors consistently demonstrate a strong interest in emerging non-traditional products such as cryptocurrency derivatives, prediction markets, 24/7 stock trading, early-stage token sales, Altcoin, and decentralized finance lending.
Impact of this trend on the future market
Young investors have exhibited distinctly different characteristics: they trade more frequently, are willing to take on greater risks in pursuit of higher returns, and are shifting a significant portion of their portfolios towards non-traditional assets, with cryptocurrencies at their core. Simultaneously, they are driving the entire financial industry to transform in a direction more suited to the needs of the internet-native generation, creating platforms that operate 24/7 and support multi-asset trading.
