Crypto Moves Into the Long-Term Wealth Plan

Crypto is becoming part of how younger investors think about building and preserving wealth. Nearly two in three investors under 45 in a new OKX survey expected to increase the share of their investments held in crypto over the next five years, while more than eight in ten said crypto was at least somewhat important to building generational wealth.

To understand how this shift was shaping views of wealth and financial security, we surveyed nearly 2,000 investors across the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. The findings showed that digital assets were moving beyond the idea of a speculative side bet and into the broader conversation around long-term financial planning.

The outlook was positive but not universal: just over half of respondents expected to increase their crypto allocation over the next five years, while 34% expected to keep it about the same and 13% expected to reduce or exit.

Property remained the clearest symbol of lasting wealth. About one in three respondents across age groups chose land, property or real estate when asked which assets best represented long-term wealth. Crypto assets and retirement accounts each attracted about one in seven responses.

Among Gen Z respondents, crypto was the top individual answer, with nearly one in four choosing it.

Retirement accounts revealed a clear difference in how investors viewed long-term security. In the United States, about one in five respondents chose retirement accounts as the asset that felt most like lasting wealth, compared with about one in eight who chose crypto. In Europe, the order flipped: nearly one in five chose crypto, while fewer than one in ten chose retirement accounts.

The findings suggest that investors are not necessarily replacing traditional assets with crypto. Instead, more than half expected to increase their allocation, placing digital assets alongside property, stocks, retirement accounts and businesses as part of a broader wealth strategy.

The way investors ranked different assets also shaped how they judged crypto’s legitimacy. About one in three respondents said crypto wealth was just as legitimate as wealth built through stocks or real estate.

People continued to define wealth in different ways. Property and financial accounts remained central to that definition, while others focused on independence, the ability to build a business, or the freedom to make their own choices.

The survey also found that attitudes toward sudden wealth were shaped by social expectations. About one in five respondents said they would keep a new fortune private to protect their relationships, while more than one in three expected little change in how friends and family treated them.

Wealth carries financial, personal and social meaning. Those dimensions shaped how respondents viewed the assets they owned and the future they wanted to build.

The data pointed to broadening acceptance of crypto alongside continued differences in how investors understood its role.

Across all age groups, just over half expected to increase their crypto allocation. About one in three said crypto wealth was as legitimate as wealth built through stocks or real estate. Among investors under 45, more than eight in ten said crypto mattered to building generational wealth.

The picture was one of growing adoption, but not uniform conviction. Investors were incorporating crypto into long-term financial plans while continuing to make room for property, retirement accounts, stocks and businesses.

For younger investors, that shift was especially clear. They were thinking about crypto not only as something to trade, but also as an asset that could contribute to long-term wealth.

People do not plan the next 20 years around a fad. When nearly two in three investors under 45 expected to increase their crypto holdings, it shows that digital assets are becoming part of how a new generation thought about financial security.

That creates a responsibility for the platforms serving them. If crypto is going to sit alongside traditional assets in a family’s wealth plan, the infrastructure around it must support high standards for transparency, security and trust.

The long-term wealth conversation is changing, and crypto is now part of it.