Millennials in the United States may be undergoing a fundamental shift in their investment choices towards Bitcoin.

As the first bell of 2020 rings, it signifies the arrival of the first batch of post-2000s in our world, marking the transition of the earliest post-2000s into their twenties. In China, it is common to differentiate between generations by using terms like "80s," "90s" to represent each decade, while in the West, terms like "Millennials," "Generation X," "Baby Boomers" are used to roughly divide people into 20-year boundaries. Today, the Millennials seem to have become the most solid force in our world.

The so-called "Millennials," in English, refer to Millennials, also known as the "Y Generation." When people hear this name, many may think it refers to those born after the millennium (2000), but in fact, that is not the case. The "Millennials" generally refer to those who were minors in the 20th century and reached adulthood after entering the 21st century (after 2001), born approximately between 1981 and 1996, making them around 24 to 39 years old today.

The reason they are called the "Y Generation" is largely because they follow the "X Generation." The "X Generation" is said to have originated from the novel "X Generation: Tales for an Accelerated Culture" published by Douglas Coupland in 1991. The author defined the generation born in the late 1950s and between the 1960s as the X Generation, the so-called next generation after the "Baby Boomer Generation." It is generally believed that the "X Generation" specifically refers to those born between 1965 and 1980, making them around 40 to 55 years old today.

The "Baby Boomers" have appeared in many eras and countries, but generally refers to the post-World War II "Baby Boomers" in the United States, from 1946 to 1964. During these 18 years, a whopping 73.5 million people were born in the U.S., hence the term "Baby Boomer Generation." Today, they are aged between 56 and 74.

According to the analysis from the digital asset management company CoinShares in their latest report, they predict a significant wealth transfer in the next 25 years, where the Baby Boomers and the generation before them will transfer their nearly $68.4 trillion wealth to the X Generation and Millennials. This amount is more than three times the current U.S. annual GDP (which was $20.5 trillion in 2018).

It seems that the investment philosophy of the Millennials is completely different from previous generations. CoinShares emphasized a survey from blockchain capital institutions, where a significant portion of respondents indicated a preference for owning Bitcoin over government bonds, stocks, real estate, and gold.

This survey result aligns with a recent survey by Coinbase, according to a joint survey by Coinbase and Qriously, among investors aged 18-34, approximately 19% hold cryptocurrency, while 16% hold precious metals.

About a quarter of investors with MBAs or doctoral degrees hold cryptocurrencies as part of their financial portfolios. Among investors holding cryptocurrencies in their portfolios, those with higher incomes (over $200,000 annually), 77% are holding Bitcoin.

Furthermore, investment giant Charles Schwab provided concrete evidence. According to a recent analysis by Charles Schwab, Millennials prefer to invest in Bitcoin rather than Netflix or Disney. Charles Schwab is currently the largest online brokerage in the U.S., managing assets worth $3.72 trillion.

In the chart above, it is surprising to find that among the stocks held by Millennials, Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, which is based on Bitcoin, ranks fifth. It surpasses Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffett, as well as giants like Disney, Netflix, Microsoft, and Alibaba.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) established by cryptocurrency investment firm Grayscale Digital is currently the largest trust fund in the cryptocurrency market. Grayscale Digital was founded in 2013 by Digital Currency Group and established the first Bitcoin trust fund GBTC that year.

Digital Currency Group is also a well-known venture capital firm in the cryptocurrency field. Founded by Barry Silbert in New York City, the company previously founded a stock software company, SecondMarket, which was sold to Nasdaq in 2015. Digital Currency Group also acquired the prominent cryptocurrency media outlet Coindesk.

The main difference between directly investing in digital currencies and purchasing trust funds is that traditional investors unfamiliar with digital currencies can enter the market through trust funds without the need to exchange and store digital currencies. Therefore, they do not need to possess relevant knowledge and bear potential fraud risks.

Comparing the investment portfolio differences among Millennials, X Generation, and Baby Boomers, it is evident that Millennials choose to hold Bitcoin and forgo Visa, which was held by the previous two generations. This is quite thought-provoking, indicating that Millennials see more potential in Bitcoin than Visa. Another interesting finding is that Millennials choose Disney over Google (Alphabet), which is an intriguing phenomenon. Perhaps Disney's acquisition of Marvel has had a deeper influence on Millennials?

According to a survey conducted by Spencer Bogart in April 2019 on 2029 American adults, similar trends can be observed.

The percentage of people who are "somewhat familiar" with Bitcoin has increased by nearly half, from 30% in October 2017 to 43% in April 2019. In the 18-34 age group, 60% consider themselves "somewhat familiar" with Bitcoin, higher than the 42% in October 2017. In terms of being "somewhat familiar" with Bitcoin, the 18-34 age group is three times the number of those aged 65 and above.

Despite the current prolonged bear market in the entire crypto market, the percentage of people who say it is "very likely" or "likely" to buy Bitcoin in the next five years has increased by nearly half, from 19% in October 2017 to 27% in April 2019.

In this survey, it can be seen that in the younger demographic, they are leading in Bitcoin awareness, familiarity, perception, belief, purchasing tendency, and ownership rate. Although all our previous data is based on the U.S., similar situations are likely in Europe and Asia as well.

In China or across Asia, Millennials are becoming the main force in community investments. With the internet deeply integrated into global life, Millennials in various countries have a high degree of similarity in brand recognition and investment preferences. For example, in China, brands like Apple, Tesla, and Marvel (Disney) have high recognition. Can we predict that in the next 25 years, a considerable amount of funds will flow into the cryptocurrency market, including Bitcoin, in this $68.4 trillion or greater wealth transfer?

This article is from our partner LONGHASH

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