Bitcoin Surges To $51,000 As Baby Boomers Embrace Cryptocurrency For 401(k) Investments

Retirement savers can now integrate their 401(k)s to Bitcoin ETFs.

PUBLISHED FEB 22, 2024

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964 and currently aged 60 to 78, are investing their savings in Bitcoin. This has pushed the cryptocurrency's value to its highest point in over two years.

ETF Accessibility for Older Generations

While younger Americans have been buying Bitcoin using smartphone apps such as Robinhood and Cash App for some time, the recent approval of Bitcoin ETFs has made it a lot more easier for older generations who may be less tech-savvy to be a part of investing. These ETFs follow Bitcoin's price but can be purchased and traded on ordinary stock exchanges alongside regular shares and funds.

Retirement savings can now be invested in Bitcoin by adding ETFs into their 401(k)s or purchasing them from regular brokerage firms such as Schwab.

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Booming Inflows into Bitcoin ETFs

The value of Bitcoin, the largest known cryptocurrency, has increased by more than 20% in the last month, reaching more than $51,000. It is now just about $20,000 from its all-time high of almost $69,000. According to Bloomberg, since the SEC approved the roughly 10 Bitcoin ETFs on the market on January 11, there has been a total inflow of massive $5.2 billion.

Michael Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, told CNBC, "I don't think that's going to stop." He said the reason might be that baby boomers, who control the majority of wealth in the United States, are now having simple access to Bitcoin via ETFs. According to the Federal Reserve, the elder generation controls 51% of the nation's wealth. Novogratz predicts that within six months, the number of financial advisors advocating Bitcoin products will double. He also mentioned that these investments are usually undertaken with a long-term view.

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Targeting Older Investors

Following the recent approval of Bitcoin ETF trading by federal regulators, investment firms are targeting elderly Americans as possible investors. Bitcoin is being marketed as a forward-thinking asset, similar to gold but less susceptible to government rules, regulations & intervention, with potential long-term returns. Novogratz went on to say, "Gold hasn't performed as well, partly due to Bitcoin replacing it." According to the Wall Street Journal, investment businesses such as VanEck, Bitwise, Wisdom Tree, and Grayscale spent over $300,000 on TV advertising that appeared during financial segments between January 11 and January 30 to excite investors.

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Simplifying Bitcoin Investment

In January, VanEck tweeted a statement praising baby boomers as the greatest generation and saying that they deserve an asset like Bitcoin to protect their hard-earned money against government devaluation. Another VanEck advertisement showed a mother asking her child about investing in Bitcoin, and the child explaining how simple it is now using ETFs.

Chris Glendening, Hashdex's head of marketing, stated the company's dedication to making digital asset investing understandable to elder investors, highlighting a long-term perspective. Michael Novogratz also stated that Bitcoin's faith was earlier damaged by a severe crash in mid-2022, resulting in a sharp price decline but right now it doesn't seem to be a cause of concern.

He also acknowledged remaining worry, relating it to the trauma of that period, but remained bullish about Bitcoin's prospects, predicting a big increase in its value by the end of the year.