A new Nexo survey found that 67% of affluent investors in the United States, the United Kingdom and Argentina own cryptocurrency, although relatively few have made digital assets a central part of their long-term financial plans.

Security concerns, high fees and platform complexity remain key barriers to using crypto for retirement planning or as a replacement for traditional investments, according to Nexo’s “Future of Digital Wealth 2026” report, published on September 23.

The report is based on a survey of 1,000 affluent investors. Nexo’s Crypto Integration Index (CII), which measures how deeply crypto is incorporated into investors’ finances, recorded an average score of 4.83 out of 10.

Crypto ownership exceeds deeper financial integration

Nexo said a score close to the 4.83 average generally represents a small, short-horizon crypto position that sits outside retirement planning.

Only 4.7% of respondents scored seven or higher. Nexo defines that level as “structurally integrated,” meaning that crypto has replaced a traditional asset and forms part of longer-term financial planning.

Just under 20% of surveyed investors expect crypto to become their number-one personal wealth driver over the next decade, ahead of salary, equities and real estate. More than 40% are already invested in crypto but have not yet built wealth with it. That expectation currently runs well ahead of financial structure: the share betting on crypto as their leading wealth engine is roughly four times the proportion whose finances are actually built around it.

“Once an investor gets past the risk perception stage, what’s left is security, fees, and platform user-friendliness and capabilities – the same things we’ve spent years building Nexo to solve,” said Neil Steinhardt, COO, Nexo US.

“That’s the gap between owning crypto and actually building wealth with it, and it’s exactly where our platform is designed to meet investors.”

The results varied by market. Argentina recorded the highest ownership rate, at 74%, but had a CII score of 4.62. The United States had the lowest ownership rate, at 62%, while recording the highest level of integration, with a score of 5.07. The UK reported 65% ownership and a CII score of 4.75. The rankings inverted between the two measures: the market with the highest ownership posted the lowest integration score, and the market with the lowest ownership the highest.

Platform trust emerges as a key hurdle

Crypto integration was highest among investors aged 35 to 44, with 28% treating digital assets as a core retirement asset. Respondents aged 18 to reported the highest ownership and conviction: more than 90% held crypto, but only 2% maintained an investment horizon of 10 years or longer.

Among structurally integrated investors with CII scores of seven or higher, reported obstacles shifted toward trust in platforms. Security concerns were cited by 36% of respondents, high fees by 34% and platform complexity by 28%.

“Risk perception used to be the story in every crypto adoption survey. It isn’t anymore,” said Iliya Kalchev, an analyst at Nexo.

“In our data, risk perception barely separates investors who’ve built real wealth with crypto from those who haven’t — what actually divides them is whether they’ve substituted crypto for a traditional asset and folded it into retirement planning. For affluent investors it’s the planning and the smoothness of operating with that crypto that remains to be resolved.”

The survey was conducted in February and March 2026 through Attest. Respondents in the US and UK were required to have at least $100,000 in liquid assets, while respondents in Argentina needed at least $40,000. Nexo said those thresholds were calibrated to capture the top 25% to 30% of each market by investable wealth — a framing that ties the results to the affluent segment of each market rather than to general-population adoption.

Source: CoinJournal