Over Half of Americans Aged 60 and Up 'Don't Know Anything' About Crypto

Cryptocurrency technology can be complex, but you're never too old to learn when you have the right resources.

The technology surrounding cryptocurrencies can be downright overwhelming -- so much so that people don't know where to start their crypto journeys. Lack of knowledge is one of the top two reasons people pass on purchasing digital dollars. In fact, research shows that the cognitive cloudiness for crypto increases with age.

Bakkt -- an asset platform for trading and storing a range of digital assets for institutional and individual investors -- recently published its U.S. Consumer Crypto Survey of more than 2,000 U.S. investors. The survey explored perceptions and behaviors around cryptos and digital assets. The research found that 26% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 admitted knowing nothing about cryptos. Given the complexity of crypto tech, it may make sense that the knowledge gap widened a bit to 45% for individuals between ages 45-60, and expanded further to more than half of respondents older than 60.

A large opportunity

The Bakkt researchers found that boosting financial literacy around crypto is important for investors of all ages, so everyone can benefit from the new e-money.

"Bitcoin is not just for Gen Z. The survey indicates mass adoption is here," says Bakkt Executive Vice President, Digital Assets, Dan O'Prey. "But, as you note, we aren't seeing as much adoption and understanding in the 60-plus age bracket. There is an opportunity to educate and demystify, and that will be a big theme going forward."

"The other important thing to note to this group is that it is easy to get started with small amounts of money to dip your toe into cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin. I think we will see adoption in this age category grow, though it seems to be a bit more slowly."

Resources exist for those who want to learn

The Ascent has many resources to help beginners, regardless of experience or age. A great place to start is with a basic understanding of what a blockchain is and how that technology works. The next logical step is understanding cryptocurrency and digital assets. From there, a natural progression moves through cryptocurrency exchanges (where you buy and trade cryptos), to digital wallets (where you store your crypto assets). Beyond that lies decentralized finance, a new kind of banking that's disrupting the traditional kind. And buzziest of all crypto concepts: NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a unique asset containing ownership and copyright info for various sorts of digital creations.

You're never too young or too old to learn. And that start can help make you the crypto expert in your crowd -- whether you skateboard or shuffleboard.