Two-Thirds of Affluent Investors Hold Crypto, But Integration Remains a Challenge

A recent Nexo survey of affluent investors has found that two-thirds hold digital assets. The survey, which polled 1,000 individuals across three markets - Argentina, the United States, and the UK - discovered that 66.7% of respondents held crypto, with the highest ownership rate in Argentina at 74.3%. However, it's not just about owning crypto; the average Crypto Integration Index score across all three markets was a middle-of-the-pack 4.83 out of 10.

The survey also found that risk perception is not the main brake on adoption, with only 13.6% of the variation in index scores explained by perceived risk. Instead, substitution (30.6%) and retirement decisions (23.6%) together explain 54.2% of the variation. Among the most deeply integrated investors, security concerns were cited as the top friction at 36%, followed by fees at 34% and platform complexity at 28%. Younger investors showed high conviction in crypto but lack of capital and planning horizon to act on it.

The survey's findings suggest that integration follows a lifecycle rather than rising steadily with age or wealth, peaking between 35 and 44 years old. At this stage, holders tend to treat crypto as a core retirement asset, with the highest reading of any age band at 28%. However, positions shrink and crypto loses its place in retirement planning after this peak.

Nexo argues that the shift towards deeper integration is driven by structural factors rather than appetite for crypto. The company's study aims to measure the gap between holding crypto and building wealth with it, highlighting that ownership on its own reveals little about an investor's level of integration.