# U.S. Surveys Show Younger Adults Report More Crypto Use and Ownership

By Enna Lee

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/34283
Published: 2026-10-18T07:49:56.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-18T07:49:56.000Z
Section: Investing

> Past use reached 19% of U.S. adults in a national survey. A separate investor sample found current ownership among 45% of younger investors and 18% of older investors.

Crypto use is more common among younger U.S. adults, but survey results vary by age group and measure, making current ownership harder to compare with past activity.

In a nationally representative survey of 8,512 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 20-26, 2026, 26% of adults ages 18-29 and 28% of those ages 30-49 had ever invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency. The share was 10% among adults ages 50 and older. Overall, 19% of adults had done so, up from 16% in 2021. The full-sample margin of sampling error was ±1.4 percentage points.

The measure covers any past activity, not current holdings. The age bands also do not map directly to generations, and adults ages 30-49 had a higher rate of past use than those under 30.

A separate survey’s investor subgroup included 2,005 people drawn from an initial sample of 4,350 U.S. adults. To qualify, respondents needed an investment account, existing investments and plans to invest within 12 months. Current crypto ownership was 45% among younger investors, defined as Gen Z and Millennials, and 18% among older investors, defined as Gen X and Baby Boomers. Those rates describe the selected investor group, not the broader U.S. adult population.

A 2023 survey also separated ownership from plans to trade. At the time, 36% of Gen Z adults and 30% of Millennials owned crypto. Meanwhile, 39% of Gen Z respondents and 45% of Millennials expected to buy, sell or trade crypto in the following year.

Trust is another distinct measure. In a January 2026 survey of 1,000 Americans, 40% of Gen Z respondents and 41% of Millennials gave crypto platforms a trust score of at least six on a 10-point scale, compared with 9% of Baby Boomers.

A projection issued in 2024 estimated that $124 trillion would transfer to heirs and charities through 2048, including $46 trillion to Millennials. It does not estimate crypto purchases or recipients’ digital-asset allocations. The survey figures measure participation, ownership and trust, but not how much crypto people hold or what heirs will choose to buy.