Since its inception, interest in Bitcoin has been much stronger in younger age groups than in older ones. However, a recent study conducted by Mode Banking reveals that Bitcoin (BTC) investments have been doubling every month since February among Boomers and Gen-X, signalling wider crypto adoption.
Mode saw an initial uptick in BTC investments in March this year, at the same time as global markets crashed and many countries went into lockdown. As the global pandemic evolved, Boomers and Gen-X began accelerating their exposure to BTC on Mode’s platform.
Taking February as a benchmark, both age groups invested 2.24x more in BTC in March than they did in February, 4.49x more in April, and a staggering 8.88x more in May.
Millennials still prefer BTC but their parents are closing the gap
Modebanking.com’s research also compared the average month-on-month growth of BTC investments among different generations before and during COVID-19. Millennials and Gen-Z dominated the leaderboard with investments growing 118% month-on-month prior to COVID-19 and 125% during COVID-19.
In the pre-COVID-19 months of January and February, older generations’ BTC investments grew almost twice as slow as those of younger generations (61% vs. 118%). However, during the pandemic, Boomers & Gen X accelerated their BTC investments much more than Millennials and Gen-Z, thus narrowly closing the month-on-month growth gap (107% vs. 125%).
anis Legler, Chief Product Officer at Mode said: “We believe these to be very interesting findings, and although the reasons for this could be manifold, they could potentially reveal an unprecedented change in the way investors think today, as a result of the global pandemic. Bitcoin is becoming popular among all age groups and is being endorsed by more mainstream investors every week. We expected Millennials to continue buying into cryptocurrencies, but to see more experienced investors also become increasingly interested in Bitcoin, is extremely promising for the growth of the industry.”
Investor mindset shift toward wealth protection and asset diversification
The global pandemic, the national lockdowns and the subsequent economic crisis could forever change investors’ mindset towards wealth and money.
Mode Banking analysts note that while central banks are pumping draconian stimulus packages globally, the general public is simply trying to find ways to protect their wealth. Google Trends indicated a clear surge in global search interest for a keyword: “Where to invest”. The search interest index is measured in points with 100 being the highest. People’s interest levels in ways to invest remained somewhat over the last two years with the index fluctuating around 50. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the index steeply increased to 75-100 levels throughout April, May and June.
Although Millennials and Gen-Z are tech-savvy and many expect them to lead the adoption of Bitcoin as they build their wealth, the vast majority of wealth is still owned by Boomers and Gen-X. Therefore, Bitcoin’s success is strongly dependent on them. Fortunately, this could be a strong case for Bitcoin to breakout.
This study is intended for information purposes only. The data and calculations in this study are based on internal confidential data and are believed to be accurate but not guaranteed. Any assumptions and generalisations about the future of the market are solely based on the analysis of internal data and our own beliefs.
Pre-COVID-19 months in this article are treated as January and February 2020, and COVID-19 months are March, April and May.
In this study, Mode refers to Boomers as those aged between 1946 – 1964, Generation X: 1965 – 1980, Millennials: 1981 – 1996 and Gen Z: 1997 – 2012.