--- title: Gen Z Is 4 Times More Likely to Have Crypto Than a 401(k) description: A new report on financial trends finds that Gen Z investors are four times more likely to own crypto than a retirement account. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2025-02-20T17:39:19.000Z' section: Investing tags: - News word_count: 926 canonical: https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo collage of a young woman holding a bitcoin, with multiple bitcoins in the background](https://img.money.com/2025/02/News-Millennials-Crypto-Retirement.jpg) It’s no secret that young investors are more crypto-curious than their elders. But new research shows just how popular digital assets are among Gen Zers and millennials. For Gen Zers, or people who were born between 1997 and 2012, crypto is by far the most popular investment. In fact, a February [report](https://commercial.yougov.com/rs/464-VHH-988/images/WP-2025-02-US-Investment-Trends-Report.pdf) on U.S. investment trends by YouGov found that Gen Z investors are four times more likely to own crypto than a retirement account. Whereas 42% of the Gen Z investors surveyed reported owning cryptocurrencies, only 11% said they have a retirement account. The trend holds true for millennials, born 1981 to 1996, too, albeit to a lesser extent: YouGov found that 36% of investors in this age group own crypto, while 34% have a retirement account. ## SoFi® is for everyone, including new and seasoned investors ### With SoFi®, you can build a balanced portfolio and trade stocks, ETFs and options as frequently as you want, commission-free. Click your state to start investing today! [Start Investing](https://money.com/pr/kaca5eee7c9d?ap_referrer=%2Fgen-z-crypto-vs-retirement%2F) INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE. Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA / SIPC. The broad embrace of crypto — especially among young investors — is part of a so-called “second wave” of cryptocurrency, says Todd Dupey, senior vice president of market research at YouGov. At first, he says crypto was a bit of a “wild west.” But now, at least from a fraud standpoint, it has become much safer and more popular. “Even larger banks and larger fintech companies are open to having \[crypto\] as a part of your portfolio,” he says. Introduced in 2009, bitcoin has ushered crypto into the zeitgeist of younger, tech-savvy Americans and spurred dozens of other crypto coins, including ethereum, solana and dogecoin. In late 2024, [bitcoin passed the $100,000 threshold](https://money.com/bitcoin-price-100k-milestone/). The Trump administration has [signaled](https://money.com/bitcoin-stock-market-surge-trump-victory/) plans to relax crypto regulations. In other words, once-niche digital currencies are poised to stay. Investing in them is easier than ever. And young investors want in on the action. ## Why young investors are skipping retirement accounts in favor of crypto Ask a financial planner whether you should invest in crypto over opening an individual retirement account (IRA), and you’ll probably be met with a lengthy, red-faced monologue. Advisors often recommend a sort of order of operations for your money: Start an emergency fund that covers several months of expenses. Take advantage of 401(k) benefits from your employer. Open a [Roth IRA](https://money.com/best-roth-ira/). Max out a [health-savings account](https://money.com/best-health-savings-account-hsa-providers/). Then, maybe, dabble in crypto if you happen to have some fun money left over. To be sure, that is sound financial advice. But to many Gen Z investors, it simply does not apply. “The majority of Gen Z is still trying to figure things out,” says Dinon Hughes, a 24-year-old financial planner and partner at Nvest Financial, explaining that many young crypto investors haven’t started their careers yet and may be in entry-level jobs without access to 401(k) plans. “With that foundation, which do you think a 20-something person is more likely to do on their own,” he asks — open an IRA or “make a couple quick bucks off crypto?” For Yates Emerson, it's the latter. A 19-year-old based in Maine, he says his buddy on his baseball team recently got him into crypto. “Everyone has a friend that starts them off,” he tells Money. Through investment apps like [Robinhood](https://money.com/how-to-use-robinhood-beginners/) and [Coinbase](https://money.com/how-to-use-coinbase-beginners/), Emerson says he was easily able to sign up and invest $2,500 into various smaller crypto coins like XRP, Sui and [dogecoin](https://money.com/how-to-buy-dogecoin/). He explains that he knows they’re volatile investments, but as a college student with little-to-no expenses, he doesn’t think there will be another point in his life when he can tolerate this much financial risk. Emerson has nothing against retirement accounts. He says he plans to open one after college when he has steady income. But with retirement likely over four decades away, it’s just not a priority. “Right now is the perfect time for me to make high-risk investments,” he says. ## Access denied For his part, Hughes says retirement likely hasn’t even entered the minds of many Gen Zers yet. The payoff is too far down the line to visualize. That isn’t an endorsement of crypto investing, but it’s the reality many of his clients — and peers — are experiencing. Another major barrier to retirement savings is access. Aside from 401(k)s offered by employers, the main retirement savings alternative are IRAs. Alas, setting up an account can be challenging. Some have minimum investment amounts; others require you to go in person. Then there’s an all-too-common snag: You have to choose where to invest your contributions. This is something many young investors have learned the hard way is not automatic. “Want to hear something that will make you feel better about yourself?” said creator Kayla Caneat in a [viral TikTok from 2022](https://www.tiktok.com/@kaylacaneat/video/7151005522391469355?lang=en). Staring deadpan into the camera, she confessed that she put money into a Roth IRA every month for two years but did not realize she needed to invest those contributions in order to maximize their benefits. “I never invested anything. I just deposited money. I never bought a single stock,” she said. Thousands of comments poured in. Many people said they had made the same mistake, begging the question: Why is something as crucial as investing in a retirement account so tricky? Emerson admits he and his peers are, at least in part, drawn to crypto by the allure of big, short-term gains: “That’s just how our brains work when we’re young,” he says. But if opening an IRA was as easy as setting up a Robinhood account and buying crypto, he says he’d probably already have one. ## It's never too late to start investing ![START INVESTING](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/20107/medium_fab74697-be3e-49a4-8040-ea434cb0e5c3.png) Our Partner [START INVESTING](https://money.com/go/613a7256caf6?bidid=4049196614&pmeta=p129-c537-u36516&ptid=664323619&ptoken=a4b49980f93d8d69204a4743a9a57196) ![START INVESTING](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/37704/medium_bb9499f2-9b69-44d9-930a-d80a69dc114d.webp) Our Partner [START INVESTING](https://money.com/go/187d015e8e7d?bidid=4049196619&pmeta=p129-c537-u36516&ptid=664323619&ptoken=8da0d4efe2d908ab1b412f078239bd29) ![START INVESTING](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/20399/medium_4774dcec-4aba-4810-85b3-843773401646.png) Our Partner [START INVESTING](https://money.com/go/41b9cd7a08fd?bidid=4049196616&pmeta=p129-c537-u36516&ptid=664323619&ptoken=bf8517ab1abb6a6e56b0a66b55768502) ![START INVESTING](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/16291/medium_00c49a6e-a3eb-40b2-b805-13b4258cd431.png) Our Partner [START INVESTING](https://money.com/go/e85a28fbba56?bidid=4049196613&pmeta=p129-c537-u36516&ptid=664323619&ptoken=00905044406a6e1c7920011f94856b44) ![START INVESTING](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/38704/medium_33d1fef9-951f-43b5-a923-54259b40e275.webp) Our Partner [START INVESTING](https://money.com/go/de3b0c7bb801?bidid=4049196622&pmeta=p129-c537-u36516&ptid=664323619&ptoken=7eec3a71520f958587042423e3a8252e) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/20107/medium_fab74697-be3e-49a4-8040-ea434cb0e5c3.png) Become a better investor with SoFi® [Start Investing](https://money.com/pr/v42ab7f4acf9?ap_referrer=%2Fgen-z-crypto-vs-retirement%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cryptocurrency", "item": "https://money.com/cryptocurrency/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gen Z Is 4 Times More Likely to Have Crypto Than a 401(k)" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/", "name": "Gen Z Is 4 Times More Likely to Have Crypto Than a 401(k)", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-02-20T17:39:19.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Gen Z Is 4 Times More Likely to Have Crypto Than a 401(k)", "articleSection": "Investing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/02/News-Millennials-Crypto-Retirement.jpg", "width": 2160, "height": 1440, "caption": "News-Millennials-Crypto-Retirement" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2022/01/a_adam-hardy.jpg?quality=85&w=400&h=440&crop=1", "email": "adam.hardy@money.com", "jobTitle": "Lead Data Reporter", "alumniOf": "University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism", "subjectOf": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.thepennyhoarder.com/", "name": "The Penny Hoarder" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/advisor/", "name": "Forbes Advisor" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://creativeloafing.com/", "name": "Creative Loafing" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/biden-trump-harris-2024.html", "name": "The New York Times" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/26/flexible-spending-account-is-flawed-benefit/", "name": "The Washington Post" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-09-20/-100-000-h-1b-visa-fee-is-a-gamble-that-could-protect-us-jobs", "name": "Bloomberg" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2024/02/08/whoop-and-the-irs-how-tax-avoidance-helps-health/", "name": "Harvard Law School" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/29/2025-23853/weighted-selection-process-for-registrants-and-petitioners-seeking-to-file-cap-subject-h-1b#footnote-33-p60883", "name": "The Federal Register" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nclc.org/resources/what-states-can-do-to-stop-credit-reporting-abuses/", "name": "National Consumer Law Center" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/open-enrollment-irs-changes-fsa-hsa-flexible-spending-account-health-savings-account-2023/", "name": "CBS News" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rankings-and-ratings/20-top-us-hospitals-for-2025-per-money/", "name": "Becker's Hospital Review" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/using-chatgpt-ai-write-cover-letters-job-applications-2023-2", "name": "Business Insider" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/04/a-major-strike-of-beef-workers-pauses-in-colorado-but-workers-say-the-fight-isnt-over/", "name": "Mother Jones" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://theweek.com/business/economy/job-market-frozen-thawing", "name": "The Week" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://fortune.com/2023/12/20/workers-lose-money-on-unused-fsa-accounts-deadlines-what-companies-should-do/", "name": "Fortune" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/liberation-day-tariffs-economy-stock-market-trump-20250401.html", "name": "The Philadelphia Inquirer" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/37955/Student_Loan_Changes_2026_New_Repayment_Options_Taxable_Forgiveness_and_More_on_the_Way", "name": "National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA)" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://eab.com/resources/blog/adult-education-blog/graduate-funding-shift-pricing-aid-strategies-aligned/", "name": "Education Advisory Board (EAB)" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://ticas.org/california/state-private-loans-protections-blog/", "name": "The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://thismorningwithgordondeal.com/b/This-Morning-with-Gordon-Deal-August-04,-2026/421564107823081285.html", "name": "This Morning with Gordon Deal" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.empower.com/the-currency/life/pumpkin-spice-season-spending", "name": "Empower" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/comments/1va10oa/comment/p0i9bju/", "name": "Reddit" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2025-02-20T17:39:19.000Z", "description": "A new report on financial trends finds that Gen Z investors are four times more likely to own crypto than a retirement account.", "abstract": "A new report on financial trends finds that Gen Z investors are four times more likely to own crypto than a retirement account.", "@id": "https://money.com/gen-z-crypto-vs-retirement/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "editor": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Julia Glum", "url": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/julia-glum/#author", "description": "Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. ", "image": "https://img.money.com/2021/10/a_julia-glum.jpg?quality=85&w=400&h=440&crop=1", "email": "julia.glum@money.com", "jobTitle": "Managing Editor", "alumniOf": "University of Florida", "subjectOf": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.newsweek.com", "name": "Newsweek" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.ibtimes.com/", "name": "International Business Times" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/home-office-tax-deduction-who-qualifies/", "name": "CBS News" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/coupon-queen-woman-tik-tok-share-tips-couponing-66302189", "name": "Good Morning America" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.wusa9.com/video/entertainment/television/programs/great-day-washington/tips-to-being-better-with-money-in-2021/65-a5b83e05-73ba-4d60-b9a8-1d47f9ac6018", "name": "WUSA9" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://pix11.com/news/coronavirus/rebound/making-ends-meet/millenials-taking-biggest-financial-hit-from-pandemic/", "name": "Pix 11" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/opinion/active-shooter-drill-schools.html", "name": "The New York Times" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://mashable.com/article/forrest-fenn-treasure-found", "name": "Mashable" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/13/theres-an-app-for-that-authorities-say-man-asked-siri-for-help-dumping-body/", "name": "The Washington Post" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/treasure-buried-by-forrest-fenn-finally-found-after-10-years.html", "name": "CNBC" }, { "@type": "WebPage", "url": "https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/florida-playbook/2017/03/gillum-for-governors-rollout-stumble-florida-woman-gets-trump-shout-out-rubios-tampa-office-problems-218973", "name": "Politico" } ], "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/superjulia", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "wordCount": 926, "keywords": [ "News" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Investment", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cryptocurrency", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency" ] } ] } ] } ```