# Crypto Ranks Above Retirement Plans in Four European Countries By Enna Lee Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/43605 Published: 2026-10-29T14:38:51.000Z Updated: 2026-10-29T14:38:51.000Z Section: Investing > In four European countries, 19% chose crypto for lasting wealth, compared with 8% for retirement plans. In the U.S., 21% favored retirement accounts and 12% crypto. A survey of adults with prior crypto investments found that respondents in four European countries chose crypto over retirement plans for lasting wealth, while U.S. respondents favored retirement accounts. In France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, 19% selected crypto as an asset for lasting wealth, compared with 8% who chose retirement plans. In the United States, the results reversed: 21% picked retirement accounts and 12% picked crypto. Real estate was the leading choice overall, with 34% of respondents selecting it. The survey covered 1,932 adults ages 18 to 88. Fieldwork ran Oct. 14-18 in the United States and the four European countries, and every participant had invested in crypto before. The answers record what respondents associate with lasting wealth; they do not compare investment returns. Because the sample was limited to people with prior crypto experience, the findings describe views among people already exposed to the asset class. Intentions to add crypto also varied by region and age. In Europe, 47% said they expected to increase their holdings, including 13% planning a significant increase. Across age groups, 51% expected to raise their crypto allocation. Among U.S. respondents outside the baby boomer generation, 55% expected to increase their allocation over the next five years, and 22% planned a significant increase. Baby boomers were more skeptical about crypto's role in generational wealth. Fifty-five percent of baby boomers overall said crypto was not important to passing wealth across generations. The share who said it was not at all important reached 65% among U.S. boomers and 44% among European boomers. OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoo said the results among investors under 45 show crypto has entered how people think about long-term finances. “When investors under 45 on both sides of the Atlantic treat crypto as part of their long-term wealth, it tells you crypto is now part of how people look at their finances,” he said. Ghoo said crypto's role in wealth planning will become more important as those investors get older and wealthier. The findings differ from earlier [research on crypto's role in broader wealth plans](), which examined how owners incorporate digital assets into financial planning. A separate [survey of affluent U.S. investors]() ranked crypto first among listed financial assets for expected long-term performance, a different measure from the wealth-building preference examined here. ## Links in this article - [research on crypto's role in broader wealth plans](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/23357) - [survey of affluent U.S. investors](https://www.tokenpost.com/news/investing/27497)