Younger Americans Trust Crypto 5x More Than Baby Boomers, OKX Survey Shows
Younger Americans place far better belief in crypto platforms than older generations, with Gen Z and Millennials almost 5 occasions extra trusting than Baby Boomers, in line with a brand new OKX survey.
The survey, performed in January 2026 amongst 1,000 US respondents, highlights a deepening generational divide in attitudes towards digital belongings and conventional finance.
Crypto Trust Rises Among Gen Z as Boomers Remain Cautious
OKX’s survey discovered that 40% of Gen Z and 41% of Millennials reported high trust in crypto platforms, with scores of 6 or larger on a 10-point scale. By distinction, solely 9% of Boomers expressed comparable confidence.
This divide turns into even clearer compared with trust in traditional banks. About 74% of Boomers assign high belief scores to legacy monetary establishments, a stage roughly eight occasions larger than the belief they place in crypto.
Among youthful respondents, skepticism towards banks is extra pronounced. Around 22% of Gen Z and 21% of Millennials reported low belief in traditional banking institutions.
“To youthful individuals, the normal monetary system seems like a relic from their dad and mom’ technology. Gen Z and youthful Millennials grew up in a digital world. It’s pure for them to be extra snug with the digital asset financial system,” Haider Rafique, Global Managing Partner, OKX, informed BeInCrypto.
The information means that confidence amongst youthful customers just isn’t solely larger, but in addition rising. Compared with January 2025, 36% of Gen Z and 34% of Millennials stated their belief in crypto platforms elevated over the previous 12 months.
Among Boomers, sentiment was extra subdued. Only 6% reported rising confidence. Moreover, 49% stated their belief ranges had remained unchanged.
But what’s driving this belief? Is it formed extra by first-hand expertise or by neighborhood affect, akin to social media, friends, and content material creators? Rafique stated each components play a job, however their impression differs for younger users.
He defined that for youthful generations, social media is probably the most pure entry level for info, whether or not for buyer assist, person experiences, or assessing credibility. They flip to social platforms first after they encounter an issue, wish to be taught one thing new, or see what trusted voices are saying on-line.
“That stated, actual belief solely builds via direct expertise. This is a part of a much bigger change in Gen Z conduct: They confirm it themselves via repeated private use. In digital belongings, particularly, loyalty comes one clean transaction at a time,” he added.
Half of Gen Z and Millennials See Crypto because the Future
This rising confidence is translating into motion. This 12 months, 40% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials plan to increase their crypto buying and selling exercise. Just 11% of Boomers stated the identical, making youthful respondents almost 4 occasions extra bullish than their older counterparts.
The variations in belief seem carefully tied to what every technology values most. For Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X, platform security is the leading issue cited by 59%, 50%, and 54% respectively.
Nonetheless, Boomers place the best emphasis on regulation and authorized safety, with 65% figuring out it as their prime concern.
Among youthful customers who stay skeptical of crypto, complexity stands out as the first level of resistance, in line with Rafique.
“Gen Z grew up with fintech apps that really feel easy. Crypto usually nonetheless seems like handing somebody a set of energy instruments and saying determine it out — complicated navigation, hidden prices, jargon in all places. Irreversible errors that may price actual cash,” he famous.
Meanwhile, the broader generational distinction extends to long-term expectations about the way forward for finance. 52% of Gen Z and 50% of Millennial respondents consider crypto will ultimately rival or surpass conventional finance as a dominant drive.
Among Boomers, solely 28% share that view. Moreover, 71% stay assured that banks will proceed to underpin the monetary system for years to return.
“Younger generations clearly see crypto as a pathway to better alternatives and a hedge in opposition to limitations in conventional wealth-building paths,” the report learn.
Views on crypto’s usefulness additional separate the generations. Nearly half of Boomers stated crypto doesn’t resolve any issues higher than conventional finance. Among Gen Z, solely 6% agreed. According to the findings,
“Younger members persistently level to sensible strengths that resonate deeply in a digital-first world, akin to true 24/7 accessibility, borderless transfers, and the sort of flexibility that inflexible legacy infrastructure merely can not replicate. These perceived benefits gas not simply adoption however a way of empowerment amongst those that have come of age anticipating on the spot, always-on monetary instruments.”
The information suggests youthful customers more and more understand crypto as safe, modern, and inevitable. Older generations, against this, usually tend to affiliate digital belongings with threat and uncertainty.
Rather than performing as a constraint, this belief hole serves as a sign of the place crypto’s momentum lies. Adoption and development are pushed by the generations that place the best confidence within the expertise.
“Remember when Facebook was tough for older generations to know? Now, your complete platform is Boomers. We’ll see the same sample with the digital asset financial system,” Rafique acknowledged.
Overall, the findings level to a transparent generational shift in monetary belief. As youthful customers develop extra assured via hands-on expertise and digital-native channels, they’re more and more shaping crypto’s adoption trajectory, whereas older generations stay anchored to conventional banking fashions.
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