Did the crypto crash change how Gen Z & Millennials feel about digital investing? YPulse’s data shows how their belief in crypto and NFTs have shifted in the wake of the bubble burst in three charts…
TL;DR
- YPulse data comparing pre-crash and post-crash sentiments show that young consumers haven’t given up on crypto
- The majority still believe that crypto and other digital investments are the future
- Ultimately, these generations see digital assets as long-term investments and are still interested in crypto payments
In April of this year, YPulse’s trend report Buying Into Crypto & NFTs laid out young consumers’ feelings about digital investing. We found that Gen Z and Millennials were indeed fueling the popularity of these digital assets, with the majority feeling that the way previous generations invested just wouldn’t work for them. Enthusiasm around digital investments among these gens was clear, with the majority of young investors saying they would prefer to invest $1000 in crypto/NFTs/digital land than the stock market. Even among those who hadn’t purchased crypto or NFTs themselves, the majority agreed “Investing in cryptocurrencies / web3 / other digital investments is the future.”
Then, the crypto market crashed. In May, the crypto market began a “meltdown” that resulted in trillions lost. As crypto-news outlet CoinDesk puts it, “The decentralized finance (DeFi)/centralized finance (CeFi) bubble is bursting, the non-fungible token (NFT) craze is burning itself out, algorithmic stablecoins are collapsing and crypto lenders are going bust. Crypto is in a bear market.” For crypto naysayers this crash has been taken as clear evidence that they were right all along. But has it burst Gen Z and Millennials’ digital investment bubble for good? In our recent fintech behavioral report, fielded post-crash we checked in on these young gens’ feelings about crypto and found that while their enthusiasm may be tempered, they have not given up on the idea that digital investments have value.
Over half of Gen Z and Millennials still see crypto as the future
When we ask 13-39-year-olds if they agree or disagree with the statement “Investing in cryptocurrencies / web3 / other digital investments (including NFTS and digital land, etc.) is the future” the number who agree did dip, but not enough to make those who believe the minority:
Over half still agree that investing in crypto and other digital assets is the future. This number is even higher among Millennials males (62%) and BIPOC young consumers (59%). Meanwhile, the number of 13-39-year-olds who agree with the statement “Investing in cryptocurrencies / web3 / other digital investments (including NFTS and digital land, etc.) will not pay off” actually went down slightly, from 49% in February 2022 to 47% in June 2022. Time also reported that in the wake of the “cryptocurrency bloodbath,” many Gen Z and Millennial investors are still crypto believers. While getting rich quick may be a draw, YPulse’s Buying Into Crypto and NFTs Trend Report found that many Gen Z and Millennials who have invested in crypto did so to build wealth for the future, and many proponents still believe that crypto is their path to success despite market dips and dives.
Nearly a third of young people are still interested in investing in crypto
The number of 13-39-year-olds who say they haven’t purchased crypto but they are interested also (understandably) dipped, but not as much as many might have expected:
The number of young people who are still interested in investing in crypto decreased from 36% in February to 30% in June. Those who haven’t purchased NFTs also dipped but didn’t bottom out, going from 38% in February to 32% in June. Understandably, the number who say “I haven’t purchased this and I’m not interested” for both assets saw post-crash increases, but not as dramatically as those watching the dramatic “crypto bloodbath” might have thought. It’s very conceivable that as the crypto market resizes and stabilizes we will see young consumers’ interest in purchasing these assets increase again as well.
Many young consumers would still like brands to accept crypto as payments and would accept crypto as part of their salary
Perhaps most surprising is the continued interest that young consumers seem to have in accepting part of their own salary in cryptocurrency, which(not to be a broken record but) decreased slightly but remains significant:
Our data shows that over two in five young people are still interested in receiving part of their salary in crypto, and that over half think that brands should start accepting payment in crypto. Brand involvement in the digital asset space has certainly continued post-crash with many continuing to create NFTs throughout the last few months. Many will understandably be wary about accepting crypto as payment for the time being, but should know that in the future, young people are still open to this digital currency mainstreaming, In short, yes, the crypto-crash had an impact on Gen Z and Millennials’ views to an extent, but ultimately these gens still see digital assets and investing as part of the future, and many still want to be involved in the space.
YPulse paid users can access the full Fintech Behavioral report and data here.
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