Crypto Retirement Fund Popular with Millennials

According to an October poll conducted by US asset management firm Charles Schwab, over half of Gen Z and Millennials want crypto to be in their 401(k) retirement plans.

When the business asked participants what they wanted to add to their 401(k) retirement products, 46% of Gen Z and 45% of Millennials indicated they hoped to invest in crypto as part of their financial planning.

It's hardly surprising, given that 43% and 47% of Gen Z and Millennials are already investing in cryptocurrencies outside their 401(k), indicating their fondness for the asset class.

The asset management firm asked 1,100 401(k) members aged 21 to 70 to take a 10-minute poll between 4 April and 19 April, 2022.

Who qualifies for a study on crypto retirement funds?

Participants in the study had to have worked for a firm with 25 or more workers and be current 401(k) plan participants.

Millennials are individuals born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s. Gen Z is those born between the mid to late 1990s and the early 2010s.

The percentages contrast sharply with individuals born between the mid-1940s and the late 1970s, with only 31% and 11% wishing to invest in cryptocurrencies, respectively.

What could challenge the success of the crypto retirement fund?

Inflation is seen as the major deterrent to pension success. Fidelity Investments reportedly put plans in place in April to allow Bitcoin investing for its 401(k) retirement saving account holders, with investors permitted to deploy up to 20% of Bitcoin to their savings portfolio.

Rest Super was the first pension fund in Australia to provide Bitcoin allocation to its 1.9 million members in November 2021.

A Quebec pension fund lost nearly all of its $154.7 million investment in the now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius. Controversies like these have split US Senators on the magnitude of the dangers associated with crypto-exposed 401(k) retirement plans.