‘The kids are not all right’: Gen Zers and millennials are as likely to own crypto as real estate (2024)

Home affordability is at its lowest point since the Great Recession, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. This is the result of a multitude of factors including high interest rates, wage stagnation, and low housing supply. For example, in New York, housing prices have increased by 916% on average, while the state’s minimum wage has increased by 416%—less than half that. Baby boomers have capitalized on this real estate price appreciation, which represents nearly half the wealth of a typical boomer household, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin has risen 150% in the past six months, according to CoinGecko data, reaching an all-time high of $73,737 in March. Additionally, for younger, digital-native generations, all crypto investing requires is an internet connection.

“It would be one thing if younger people could meet these challenges by accumulating wealth like their parents did, but that requires asset prices to fall occasionally,” Omid Malekan, an author and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, wrote in Fortune in February. However, stocks and house prices only soared in 2020, despite economic collapse, as government intervention in the form of monetary easing and fiscal spending led to shallower declines.

“If a once-in-a-century pandemic doesn’t improve affordability, what will?” Malekan asked, adding that when it comes to the opportunity presented by crypto investing, “the kids are not all right, but they are finally doing something about it.”

Meanwhile, the Policygenius survey also found that 9% of Gen Zers access financial advice from social media, and just 5% get it from news outlets. Aside from investments, it also found that 62% of millennials and Gen Zers try trending financial “hacks,” often born on social media, like no-spend challenges, “infinite banking” (borrowing against a whole life insurance policy), and maximizing credit card rewards, which involves opening several credit card accounts to maximize points, airline miles, and other rewards.