Investors in several of Europe's largest economies ranked cryptocurrencies above traditional retirement plans as tools for building lasting wealth, with 19% of surveyed investors choosing crypto and 8% opting for conventional retirement plans.

The picture was reversed in the United States, where 21% of investors selected traditional retirement accounts and only 12% chose cryptocurrencies. The findings come from a survey released Thursday by crypto exchange OKX, conducted by polling firm Pollfish between Oct. 14 and Oct. 18 among 1,932 adults aged 18 to 88 who have previously invested in crypto across the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Because the sample includes only adults who have previously invested in crypto, the results reflect sentiment within that group rather than the general population of each country.

Real estate ranked first overall as the asset most associated with lasting wealth, chosen by 34% of all respondents, ahead of both digital assets and retirement accounts.

The results align with earlier signs of concern among younger Europeans about whether their retirement plans will provide sufficient income. A May 2026 survey by Debating Europe, the citizen-engagement unit of Friends of Europe, found that about 43% of 2,000 surveyed Europeans aged 18 to 35 expected their pensions to fall short.

“When investors under 45 on both sides of the Atlantic treat crypto as part of their long-term wealth, it tells you crypto is now part of how people look at their finances,” said Erald Ghoo, CEO of OKX Europe. He added that crypto's place in investors' wealth plans will become “more important” as they grow older and wealthier.

Majority of Investors Plan to Increase Crypto Holdings

Nearly half of European investors, 47%, expect to increase their crypto holdings, including 13% planning a significant increase. Across all age groups, 51% expect to raise their crypto allocation.

Boomers are the exception, with 55% saying crypto is not important to generational wealth. Excluding that cohort, US investors generally hold a more bullish view of cryptocurrency's place in their portfolios: 55% of surveyed American participants expect to increase their allocation within the next five years, and 22% plan a significant increase.

Even so, American boomers were more pessimistic than their European counterparts, with 65% saying crypto was not at all important for building generational wealth, compared with 44% of boomers in Europe. Taken together, the results sketch a generational divide within the same asset class: a majority of respondents expect to add to their holdings, while boomers on both continents stand apart on crypto's role in generational wealth.

US Policy Shifts Broaden Retirement Plan Access to Alternative Assets

Americans nonetheless remain more skeptical about crypto's role in retirement accounts. An August survey by the National Institute on Retirement Security found that 77% of Americans consider crypto in workplace retirement plans risky, including 46% who view it as very risky. That skepticism forms the backdrop for a policy fight in Washington over how far workplace retirement plans should open to digital assets.

The Trump administration has, however, taken steps to broaden access to alternative assets in retirement plans. In May 2025, the US Department of Labor rescinded crypto-specific guidance that had urged 401(k) plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” when considering cryptocurrency investments, returning instead to a neutral approach that neither endorses nor discourages crypto.

In August 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to expand access to alternative assets in 401(k) plans, including exposure to digital assets through certain investment vehicles. In March 2026, the Department of Labor issued a draft proposal seeking to expand 401(k) investment options to include crypto and alternative investments.

In June 2026, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Representative Bobby Scott urged the Department of Labor to withdraw its proposal to allow digital assets in retirement plans, arguing that the policy would “expose retirement accounts to exceptionally volatile assets, like digital currency.” The disagreement leaves the draft proposal's fate — and with it, the scope of digital-asset access in US 401(k) plans — unresolved.