$100 trillion wealth transfer could double crypto market size

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100 trillion wealth transfer

Demographics are hard to ignore

A recent Coinbase study found that 45% of young investors in the United States currently own cryptocurrencies, compared to just 18% among older generations. Younger investors allocate 25% of their portfolios to non-traditional assets, triple the 8% allocation seen among older investors. Four out of five young people believe crypto will play a more significant role in future financial systems.

The generational divide is global. In the Asia-Pacific region, nearly half of high-net-worth individuals allocate more than 10% of their portfolios to digital assets. Meanwhile, 87% already own crypto, and 60% plan to increase their exposure.

A recent Bitget Research survey showed that 20% of respondents from Generation Z and Generation Alpha are willing to receive pension savings in cryptocurrencies, while 78% expressed greater confidence in alternative savings methods than in traditional pension funds.

Echoing Svanevik’s views, Galaxy Digital’s Zac Prince also highlighted the inevitability of demographic shifts earlier this month, noting that younger investors prefer an “app-first” approach over traditional brokerage relationships.

He added that younger investors are “far more comfortable with platforms like GalaxyOne, where the experience is app-first — multiple products in one place with a highly intuitive user interface, compared to the traditional model of calling a broker on the phone.”

Galaxy Digital estimates that the $83 trillion wealth transfer from baby boomers could significantly boost crypto adoption, as 45% of young U.S. investors already own digital assets, compared to 18% of older generations.

A Global trend

Prince noted that wealth transfer patterns do not strictly correlate with population size or GDP. He pointed to Italy, which, despite having half the population of Japan and about 60% of its GDP, is expected to see higher intergenerational wealth transfers due to stronger savings rates and higher homeownership among older citizens.

Families in the Gulf states are also experiencing an active wealth transfer cycle. As a result, banks including Citigroup, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank are expanding their wealth management divisions in the region to attract an estimated $1 trillion in regional investments.

Svanevik believes the passage of the CLARITY Act would usher in a “new era for crypto in the United States” with global implications, arguing that the crypto industry has reached sufficient infrastructure maturity to deliver institutional-grade products that were previously impossible.

However, not all indicators are positive. Data from the FINRA Foundation released last month showed that interest in cryptocurrencies among U.S. investors declined from 33% to 26% between 2021 and 2024. Additionally, 66% of respondents now view digital assets as extremely or very risky, up from 58% previously.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s role in the current wave of crypto legitimization and long-term adoption trends, Bitcoin has lost approximately 25,000 millionaire addresses over the year following Trump’s return to the White House. The number fell from 157,563 addresses at his inauguration in January 2025 to 132,383 as of January 20, 2026.

As we wrote, Weekly forecast: Bitcoin outlook hinges on Fed signals after weekly decline

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