In recent years the financial landscape has witnessed a significant shift when it comes to digital assets. While many Americans may have at least heard of popular tokens like Bitcoin or Ethereum, many haven’t viewed them as something they would take seriously or invest in, especially high net worth investors, but that is quickly changing. The surprising part? This shift isn’t just fueled by young retail investors, many older high-net-worth investors are increasingly embracing digital assets as a viable investment option as well.
In fact, a recent survey by Grayscale Investments® and The Harris Poll revealed that over a quarter (26%) of Americans with investible assets of $1 million or more own cryptocurrency, exceeding the 21% average among the general population. The report also highlights a few key generational differences: more than three-quarters (78%) of high-net-worth Americans over 50 who own crypto say the current economic climate has heightened their interest in it. Meanwhile, among those under 50, more than two-thirds (78%) now express interest in crypto as an investment option.
This interest among high-net-worth investors of different ages is encouraging to see and as a result we’re beginning to enter a period where many expect crypto to become part of their portfolio. Specifically, nearly 2 in 5 (38%) high-net-worth investors say they believe their investment portfolio will include crypto in the future. This includes more than half (53%) of high-net-worth Americans under age 50 and 22% of those over age 50.
There are several factors contributing to this rising interest, including the economic climate in the US and the approval of spot crypto exchange-traded products (ETFs) at the beginning of 2024. Specifically, the survey revealed that over a third (36%) of these high-net-worth investors are paying closer attention to Bitcoin and other crypto assets due to geopolitical tensions, inflation, and a weakening US dollar. This included 49% of high-net-worth investors under age 50, and 23% of those over age 50. Additionally, the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US has piqued the interest of more than a third (34%) of high-net-worth investors, a sign more affluent investors are beginning to see a potential role for digital assets in their portfolios.
Methodology
The research was conducted across three waves from late 2023 through September 2024 (November 27-29, 2023, April 30th-May 2nd, 2024; and September 4th-6th, 2024) among a total of 5,368 adults (aged 18 and over) who planned to vote in the 2024 presidential election including 412 who have investable assets of $1 million or more (75 own crypto and 337 do not)I by The Harris Poll on behalf of Grayscale via its Harris On Demand omnibus product.
Data was weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income, employment, and propensity to be online, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval may be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error, which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including but not limited to: coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.
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