Millennials were early adopters of cryptocurrency, notably driving the first Bitcoin (BTC +2.76%) boom in 2017. Since then, the crypto market has grown significantly, rising from less than $100 billion to over $2 trillion. Let's take a look at what millennial investors have been doing with their crypto portfolios to see what strategies they're using.
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1. They're incorporating stablecoins into their finances
Stablecoins (cryptocurrencies designed to remain pegged to another asset) have grown in popularity, especially with last year's passage of the Genius Act, a federal law that provides a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Last July, 27% of Americans said they've already made purchases or investments with stablecoins, according to research by The Motley Fool.
The rate was higher among millennials, with 34% reporting using a stablecoin. Unlike other cryptocurrencies people buy as investments, stablecoins work well as fast digital payment methods because they maintain a fixed value. Millennials have shown they're open to adopting stablecoins, and 60% said they'd use stablecoins for their typical shopping.
2. They're putting more of their money into crypto and other non-traditional assets
Millennials are more likely to invest in cryptocurrency and have more crypto-heavy portfolios, according to Coinbase Global's (COIN 2.72%) State of Crypto Q4 2025 report. It found that 45% of younger investors, a group that includes Gen Z and millennials, currently owned crypto, compared to 18% of older investors.
Younger investors also say they allocate 25% of their portfolios to non-traditional assets, including crypto, crypto ETFs, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), derivatives, and leveraged ETFs. That's over three times as much as older investors, who have 8% of their portfolios in non-traditional assets.
Younger investors can afford to take on more risk, since they have plenty of time until retirement. However, 25% of your portfolio is a substantial amount to put in non-traditional assets. A more modest allocation, 5% to 10% at most, is much safer.
3. They're looking for under-the-radar crypto investments
Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency of choice for millennials, is still the most popular coin by an overwhelming margin. With a $1.5 trillion market cap as of March 4, it makes up nearly 60% of the crypto market.
CRYPTO: BTC
Key Data Points
But Coinbase's State of Crypto report found that millennials (and Gen Z) want to diversify their crypto portfolios and invest in more than just Bitcoin. Among younger investors, 46% were interested in altcoins, a term for all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. A similar number, 47%, were interested in early-stage token sales.
Altcoins and early token sales are both opportunities to invest in cryptocurrencies that could explode before they get too popular. The trade-off is that many of these altcoins and new cryptocurrencies never take off, with CoinGecko reporting that 53% of the cryptocurrencies it tracks on GeckoTerminal have failed.
Once again, it's important to manage your risk. If you venture into smaller altcoins or early token sales, keep your positions small. Since there's a high probability of failure, you don't want too much of your money riding on these investments.
