There’s a Generational Shift in Asset Allocation Strategy Taking Place
Once viewed as a fringe asset class, digital assets have emerged as a serious consideration for individual investors, especially those over 50 prioritizing wealth preservation, intergenerational transfer, and global resilience.
Digital assets offer qualities that traditional investments can’t often match—global accessibility, transparency, 24/7 liquidity—appealing to investors looking for more control and greater flexibility. These attributes are drawing new capital from individuals seeking diversified strategies adaptable to the modern financial world.
Wealth managers are uniquely positioned to guide this demographic—who may be crypto-curious but cautious—toward secure, well-structured exposure to bitcoin and other digital assets. Today, crypto isn’t just a speculative play, but a credible asset class that fits into long-term strategic portfolios.
The Numbers Behind the Trend
Digital asset adoption among older, wealthier investors is growing through steady, considered exposure as the asset matures.
Correlation between increasing age and crypto spend: Gen X investors (ages 41-56) are spending more on crypto than any other age group, 1.6x and 1.1x ahead of Gen Z and Millennials, respectively. Although Gen Z and Millennials have a larger number of crypto buyers, Gen Z’s greater spending power and disposable income likely contribute to their higher per-person investment in digital assets. (1)
Estate planning signals mainstream adoption: According to news.au.com, the inclusion of cryptocurrencies in Australian wills has surged by 2,400% over the past four years. (2) This is a striking indicator of how digital assets are becoming mainstream and a growing part of generational wealth planning.
Elite wealth network validation: Networks like R360, an ultra-high-networth (UHNW) members-only network made up of U.S. centimillionaires, have publicly embraced bitcoin as both a store of value and collateralized lending assets—signaling that crypto is no longer off limits for the ultra-wealthy. (3)
Regulatory clarity: The approval of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), like the spot bitcoin ETFs, have caused 34% of high-net worth (HNW) individuals to become significantly more interested in crypto than they were before and are seeing a role for digital assets in their portfolios. (4)
Why Clients Over 50 Are Looking to Digital Assets
The growing interest in bitcoin from older HNW individuals is not about chasing the latest trend, it’s about future-proofing portfolios and embracing smart, diversified strategies that preserve legacy.
Diversification and inflation hedging
Many clients over 50 are increasingly focused on protecting purchasing power. Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralized nature make it a compelling hedge against inflation and political instability. Additionally stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to another asset to maintain a stable price, offer a unique diversification benefit by providing access to US dollar stability with practical applications for global transfers.
Digital legacy planning
Digital assets are emerging as a multi-generational asset class and advisors have the opportunity to bridge generational preference by integrating them into long-term plans. Many UHNW individuals are proactively involving their heirs in conversations around wealth strategy, particularly as the next generation tends to be more receptive to digital assets and expects them to play a central role in future portfolios.
Technology-driven wealth mindset
Clients over 50 are increasingly tech savvy and use more than a dozen digital services to help them manage their everyday lives, including finances. (5) It’s already become standard to manage investments online, using digital banking and follow market trends via social media. Crypto is not a huge leap, but instead a logical step, especially when trusted advisors help bridge knowledge gaps.
Institutional-grade access
The early days of bitcoin required personal wallets and complex setups. Today’s HNW individuals can access bitcoin and other digital assets through regulated vehicles and insured custodians, removing friction that once acted as a barrier. With the right infrastructure, digital assets become a professionally managed asset not an experiment.
Additional reward generation
For clients exploring assets beyond bitcoin, staking offers a compelling way to earn passive income while supporting proof-of-stake networks. Traditional fixed-income products like Certificates of Deposits (CDs) may offer annual percentage yields (APYs) ranging from 2% to 4.6% while staking rewards can be significantly higher. Depending on the asset and platform, clients have the potential to generate anywhere from 5% to 20%, an attractive complement to long-term holdings. (6)
How Global Institutions are Responding to Growing Demand
Financial institutions are adapting to demand, recognizing that their clients—including older generations—are increasingly embracing digital assets.
Banco Santander has been actively expanding its crypto services, particularly catering to HNW individuals. With the introduction of regulated custody services allowing clients to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies, in addition to their broader involvement to explore how tokenization can enhance cross-border payments, Banco Santander is making a strategic effort to meet the growing demand among HNW individuals across the globe. (7)
Raffles Family Office Group launched its first digital asset fund through their subsidiary Raffles Asset Management—a milestone for the APAC region. (8) This combined with their platform that enables UHNW individuals to diversify into digital assets, Revo Digital Family Office, underscores Raffles Family Office Group’s commitment to building full-service infrastructure to help their clients.
Franklin Templeton, with over $1.5T in assets under management, has been renowned for its commitment to delivering long-term value to its diverse clientele including HNW individuals, institutions and retail clients. Recognizing the crypto’s foundational technologies becoming integral to global finance, Franklin Templeton has proactively embraced digital assets to allow their clients to diversify their portfolios through a broad suite of digital asset investment products. (9)
DBS Bank has built a comprehensive digital asset ecosystem tailored for HNW clients across APAC. Through its in-house digital asset exchange, custody services, tokenization capabilities, and treasury solutions, DBS offers a fully regulated and institutional-grade platform. By pairing these services with estate planning and strategic ecosystem partnerships, the bank delivers a differentiated offering to digital inclined banking clients.
With global regulatory clarity becoming more widespread to complement increasing demand, these financial institutions are building secure, compliant offerings to meet the needs of their sophisticated investors.
The Implications of Digital Assets on Private Banks and Wealth Managers
In this environment, firms that embrace digital assets early will gain a significant edge in client retention, generational transition planning, and long-term relevance.
Expanded revenue stream
The growth of digital assets has unlocked significant wealth that has yet to be fully tapped. Just as firms evolved to capture the new wave of wealth from the tech boom, there is now a parallel opportunity to reposition for this next generation of crypto-native and crypto-curious clients. With digital assets in the early stages of financialization, firms that invest in the right knowledge, experience, and tooling today stand to unlock multiple new revenue streams in the future.
Defending wallet share
Private banks, wealth managers, and other trusted advisers are viewed as the gatekeepers of their clients’ assets but without a crypto strategy, they risk losing relevance. As digital asset demand grows, assets will naturally flow toward platforms that can support them. Advisors who fail to act could see declining wallet share as clients seek our firms better equipped to meet their needs.
Competitive differentiation
Integrating digital asset offerings allows private banks and wealth managers to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. This positions them to serve a younger generation of beneficiaries and expand their appeal to clients who view crypto as essential. By guiding clients to understand, evaluate, and allocate crypto in line with long-term goals and regulatory requirements, firms gain a competitive strategic advantage over competitors.
Operational readiness
Delivering digital asset services at scale requires secure, modernized infrastructure. This includes custody solutions, updated compliance workflows, enhanced portfolio reporting systems, and ongoing education for internal teams on the fundamentals of digital assets. Firms that lack operational readiness risk reputational damage, regulatory missteps, and reduced credibility with clients.
The Trusted Partners Behind Institutional Digital Asset Strategies
As more institutions and wealth management firms adopt digital assets into their strategies, many are turning to crypto-native infrastructure providers to ensure their clients’ assets are securely managed. The growing collaboration between traditional financial services institutions and digital asset infrastructure providers marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of wealth management.
Companies like BitGo, with over a decade of experience and a reputation for secure, robust infrastructure, have become trusted partners for leading institutions integrating digital assets. With a large global presence through multiple regulated entities, BitGo serves as the operational backbone of thousands of institutions, including many of the industry's top brands, exchanges, and platforms. From regulated, insured custody, to staking, trading and other financial services, BitGo can empower your digital asset strategy.
Connect with us to expand your offerings and unlock new opportunities.
Sources
(1) https://stilt.com/data/vast-majority-crypto-buyers-millennials-gen-z/
(6) https://www.bankrate.com/investing/crypto-staking/?utm_source=chatgpt.com#how-much-can-you-earn
(9) https://www.franklintempleton.com/forms-literature/download/DAO-F25
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BitGo is the leading infrastructure provider of digital asset solutions, delivering custody, wallets, staking, trading, financing, and settlement services from regulated cold storage. Since our founding in 2013, we have focused on enabling our clients to securely navigate the digital asset space. With a large global presence through multiple regulated entities, BitGo serves thousands of institutions, including many of the industry's top brands, exchanges, and platforms, as well as millions of retail investors worldwide. As the operational backbone of the digital economy, BitGo handles a significant portion of Bitcoin network transactions and is the largest independent digital asset custodian, and staking provider, in the world. For more information, visit www.bitgo.com.
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