• Matthew Sigel of VanEck Investments predicts that over the next two decades, up to $6 trillion could enter the crypto market through inheritance, as millennials and GenXers inherit a projected $84 trillion.
• Young investors aged 21-43 are expected to allocate a significant portion of this windfall to cryptocurrencies, with potential annual inflows of $300 billion.

Matthew Sigel, the head of Digital Assets at VanEck Investments, believes that over the next 20 years, more than $6 trillion could flow into the crypto market from inheritances. Citing the 2024 Bank of America Private Bank Study, Sigel stated that millennials, GenX, and future generations could possibly inherit $84 trillion from seniors and the baby boomers by 2045.

He believes that young US investors between the age of 21-43 will inherit a total of $42 trillion from baby boomers and will possibly divert 14% of this inherited amount to cryptocurrencies, thereby leading to a total of $6 trillion in inflows. Thus, Sigel believes that young investors will continue to invest $300 billion every year, over the next 20 years.

The study revealed that young investors categorized as aggressive allocated 14% of their portfolios to crypto, while moderate and conservative young investors allocated 12% and 17%, respectively. Bank of America emphasized the discovery, noting that “the most conservative group maintains the highest average exposure to crypto”. In contrast, investors aged 44 and older showed minimal allocation to crypto assets in their portfolios.

Crypto Presents A Massive Growth Opportunity

In the study report, Bank of America noted that 28% of the investors in the age group of 21-43 believe that cryptocurrencies provide a very opportunity for growth. The report also states that crypto investment is the second-highest rate of investment for young investors after real estate, favored by a total of 31% of investors. Interestingly, private equity comes after crypto with 26% of investors favoring it.

In contrast, only 4% of investors aged 44 and older ranked crypto as offering the most growth opportunities, marking it as the second lowest on their list of priorities.

Bank of America pointed out that the differences between younger and older investors go beyond just allocations to crypto or private investments and indicate more profound shifts. The bank highlighted that 72% of young investors believe that traditional stocks and bonds alone no longer offer higher-than-average returns. In contrast, only 28% of investors aged 44 and older share this view.

Bank of America also suggested that young investors’ interest in crypto might stem from uncertainty. It noted that many in the crypto industry liken crypto to traditional investments like gold and that, from certain perspectives, crypto may appear surprisingly risk-averse for young, affluent individuals.

Crypto Market Adoption

As Bitcoin and other altcoins continue to make market penetration a wider group of investors have grown acceptance towards digital assets. Furthermore, the arrival of regulated investment products like ETF is likely to pull more investments into the crypto space. The successful launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs is a testament to it, per the CNF update. As of press time, Bitcoin is trading 0.42% up at $57,441 with a market cap of $1.132 trillion.

On the other hand, top economies like the US are keenly working on improving the regulatory environment. Now, we have seen crypto becoming the center point of discussion among lawmakers for the upcoming US elections, per the CNF report.