Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are people born between 1981 and 1996. Every year they invest more and more, and often they choose cryptocurrencies as an investment asset. But why?

Where are millennials investing?

Recent surveys show that nearly half of millennial millionaires have at least 25 percent of their wealth in cryptocurrencies. The CNBC survey included 750 respondents with at least $1 million in investable assets. More than a third of wealthy young investors keep at least half of their wealth in cryptocurrency.

The survey results showed a generational gap in attitudes toward digital assets. 83% of American millionaires do not own cryptocurrencies at all; only one in ten keeps more than 10% of their wealth in crypto. None of the baby boomers or older generations have a 10% share of digital assets.

Another recent study supports this data: according to Piplsay, 49% of millennials surveyed own cryptocurrency, compared to 38% of Generation X and 13% of Generation Z. Millennials are also more likely to accept investments as a form of payment: 53% said they were "very likely" to purchase goods or services using cryptocurrency, compared to 40% of Gen X respondents and just 7% of Gen Z.

So, millennials invest in cryptocurrencies because of these four factors:

1. Digitalization

The first key factor underlying the behavioral differences between millennials and previous generations is the impact of technology on them. The active development of new technologies and the process of digitalization have occurred in parallel with this generation's maturation. 

Millennials have consistently discovered all the possibilities of digital technologies without being held back by the knowledge of previous eras. They quickly realized the benefits of PCs, cell phones, the Internet, and social media. Most millennials actively use mobile online banking, electronic payment systems, and cryptocurrencies.

2. Market Prospects

Millennials did not have the opportunity to invest at the dawn of the dot-com market. Many of them missed the opportunity to enter the stock market during the 2008 crisis. Now they have a full-fledged opportunity to invest in this nascent market.

The cryptocurrency industry is still in its infancy, and growth opportunities are still ahead. To put it in perspective, we can  compare the cryptocurrency market's capitalization with other financial sectors. 

Comparing the cryptocurrency market capitalization against other financial markets’ capitalization.

This is exactly what many of today's young investors realized. For them, the cryptocurrency sector is a unique opportunity to invest their money in an entirely new market and make a fortune. 

3. Distrust of traditional financial instruments

Millennials lived through the dot-com bubble and witnessed the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis. During this time, many of them have developed a negative view of traditional financial institutions and instruments.

The data from surveys confirm this: over the past three years, young generations have become more trusting of bitcoin than of the world's leading banks. This is supported by data from Tokenist’s research, conducted with 4,852 respondents in 17 countries between the ages of 18 and 65.

According to the findings, 51%of millennials trust bitcoin more than banks such as Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs. This figure is much lower among older generations, causing the overall level of trust in cryptocurrency to be 47%. 

4. The desire to manage their own finances

With a fair amount of distrust in traditional financial institutions and instruments, millennials turn to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. 

Bitcoin brings with it an alternative to the banking system, a way to really control your finances and "be your own bank. Moreover, Bitcoin's strength lies in its decentralized, censorship-resistant, neutral, permission-free network, which allows transactions worldwide—without intermediaries or third parties—with anyone for any reason. 

Transparency of transactions and wallets, pseudo-anonymous structure, limited issue, deflationary mechanism—for millennials, these terms were much more transparent and closer to traditional financial institutions.

Millennials are the very first digital generation. They have particular expectations for all services, such as free communication, transparency, and convenience. They expect easily accessible products and value mobility. 

Millennials also innately prefer technology-based products, services, and solutions. Like Generation X, this generation has a collective distrust of banks and big corporations after growing up during the Dot-com bubble of the early 2000s and the global financial crisis of 2008. All of this contributes to millennials' preference of cryptocurrency as their primary investment.