A new survey from investment firm Charles Schwab really surprised me recently. Schwab reports about 60% of cryptocurrency owners plan to increase their holdings over the next year.
Okay, maybe that doesn’t astonish you. Maybe if I told you that crypto owners planned to increase their holdings at a greater rate than either ETF or stock owners?
Wow. It’s all there in Schwab’s 2026 Modern Wealth Survey.
On the other hand, nearly half of Americans who don’t own crypto worry about scams and fraud. And over half of those familiar with cryptocurrency consider it a high-risk investment.
Now, those findings might seem contradictory at first. How can an asset class inspire so much enthusiasm and so much concern at the same time?
Here’s the thing: I believe crypto is a polarizing asset. Based on the numbers, investors either love it for the risk and growth potential – or they fear it.
Today, we’ll discuss whether those fears are rational. And what we can learn from the growing popularity of crypto investing…
Crypto owners are signaling confidence
Let’s start with the Schwab survey’s most striking finding.
- Cryptocurrency investors plan to invest more: 60% expect to increase their holdings in the next 12 months
Compared to several traditional investment types:
- Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): 56%
- Stocks: 52%
- Bonds: 42%
- Mutual funds: 41%
In other words, crypto was the most popular of any other asset class measured. (No, they didn’t measure everything – they left out credit default swaps and private equity and orange juice futures, but you’ve gotta draw the line somewhere.)
Sixty percent is a huge expression of enthusiasm, particularly considering crypto’s reputation for volatility.
The survey also found that 21% of Americans currently own cryptocurrency, while another 23% don’t own it but are interested in crypto investing.
So a significant number are at least considering cryptocurrency, even if many haven’t taken the next step.
Why are Americans interested in crypto?
Here’s another noteworthy finding – the two leading motivations were:
- Long-term growth potential: 36%
- Portfolio diversification: 33%
These are exactly the same considerations investors in traditional assets evaluate.
Rather than looking exclusively at short-term price movements, they’re considering how cryptocurrency can contribute to their broader financial objectives over time. Through both growth and diversification. (I’d argue that the two are related – “diversification” to me means “growth when other assets aren’t growing” – but let’s just take their responses at face value.)
Cryptocurrencies can experience dramatic price swings, and different digital assets often respond to the same market forces. Adding several cryptocurrencies to a portfolio doesn’t automatically reduce its overall risk – mostly because cryptocurrency prices tend to have substantial positive correlation.
The benefits of diversification come from combining assets with low correlations – that’s how you reduce risk without significantly impacting return.
Having said all that, it’s interesting that long-term growth and diversification are prominent motivations.
The survey also found that 90% of Americans are familiar with cryptocurrency. Among those familiar with it, more than half (52%) consider crypto “important” or “essential” to building wealth.
That’s astonishing!
And 43% expect it to become a more popular investment.
Another 27% describe cryptocurrency as a “complement to traditional investments.” To me that means diversification.
That last finding is especially interesting.
The question is no longer simply whether cryptocurrency is worth considering, but what role it plays alongside other investments.
Of course, that role could be substantial, limited or even nonexistent depending on someone’s time horizon, objectives and tolerance for risk. Cryptocurrency isn’t the only choice when it comes to building wealth – it’s just the most recent.
It’s also worth noting the generational differences.
Millennials reported the highest crypto ownership rate at 33%, compared with just 8% among baby boomers. Millennials were also the most likely to say they expected to add more crypto over the coming year. (That squares with my experience of BitIRA’s customer base.)
Now, we can’t know from these numbers alone why the generations differ. The contrast suggests that age/time horizon are be important factors in how Americans think about digital assets.
The survey also discussed the barriers to crypto ownership…
So what’s keeping other Americans away from crypto?
If cryptocurrency is becoming a more familiar investment, why are so many people still hesitant?
Schwab identified three leading concerns:
Scams or fraud (48%)
That’s understandable. Cryptocurrency-related scams can involve everything from impersonating legitimate businesses to promising impossibly high investment returns.
And unlike ordinary market losses, which are part and parcel of investing, fraud is someone deliberately stealing your money.
Careful research can help identify warning signs. That includes independently verifying a company’s identity, understanding how it operates and treating guarantees of unusually high returns with skepticism.
The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to pursue cryptocurrency investment fraud, including cases involving purported trading platforms that falsely claim regulatory legitimacy. Even so, due diligence is an investor’s best ally in the struggle against scams.
Not understanding how crypto works (39%)
This concern is equally reasonable.
Cryptocurrency introduces concepts that many investors don’t routinely encounter with traditional brokerage accounts: blockchain networks, private keys, digital wallets – and that’s the basics! Dig a little deeper and you’ll find smart contracts, oracles and zk-SNARK protocols. Frankly, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed…
There’s also the question of distinguishing cryptocurrencies by their intended uses. Some are intended for transactions, others as a store of value, some as utility tokens and others proofs-of-stake in a lending pool.
Fortunately, understanding these subjects doesn’t require becoming a software engineer.
Basic educational resources can help investors evaluate cryptocurrencies, including what they would own, how their assets would be stored and what could potentially go wrong. (That’s what we do every day at BitIRA.)
Lack of regulatory clarity (34%)
This is an area where the cryptocurrency industry has undergone significant changes.
For example, Congress passed the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law on July 18, 2025. The legislation establishes a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins – digital assets designed to maintain a stable value relative to a reference asset, typically the U.S. dollar.
That’s an important development, but its scope matters.
The GENIUS Act focuses on payment stablecoins. It doesn’t resolve every regulatory question involving cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether, or the exchanges, intermediaries and other businesses serving the market.
Regulatory frameworks are continuing to evolve, and additional rules and implementation details remain relevant.
Greater regulatory clarity will address some investor concerns. But regulation alone can’t eliminate volatility, prevent every fraud or guarantee an asset’s performance.
The other crypto question worth asking: How would you own it?
Schwab’s findings highlight something important about cryptocurrency investing.
Deciding whether cryptocurrency fits your financial objectives is one question.
Deciding how and where to hold it is another.
For example, cryptocurrency can be traded through trading platforms and held in self-custodied wallets. Or within a self-directed Individual Retirement Account (SDIRA).
For people considering diversifying their retirement savings with cryptocurrency, the account structure deserves particular attention. Especially if you’ve ever prepared an income tax return based on pages and pages of crypto trades…
A Digital IRA is a type of self-directed IRA that allows investors to own cryptocurrencies in a tax-advantaged retirement account. With a traditional IRA, investment earnings generally grow tax-deferred, with withdrawals typically subject to income tax. Roth IRAs follow different rules: Contributions are made with after-tax dollars, and qualified withdrawals, including earnings, can be tax-free. (I think of them as “pay later or pay now” options.)
These are features of the IRA structure, not special tax exemptions created for crypto.
Of course, tax reduction alone doesn’t determine whether an investment is appropriate for you. It’s just one consideration among many. You must also consider investment volatility, time horizon, liquidity needs and so on.
These concerns are particularly important for cryptocurrency, where significant price fluctuations (aka “volatility”) can occur over relatively short periods.
How BitIRA tackles these concerns
At BitIRA, we’ve built our services around helping eligible Americans hold supported cryptocurrencies within self-directed retirement accounts.
We primarily work with Equity Trust Company for IRA custody. We work exclusively with Ledger Enterprise for digital asset storage, mostly for their billionaire-class security measures. Furthermore, BitIRA has “end-to-end” insurance on your digital assets – meaning they’re insured against theft and fraud throughout your transaction and in storage.
(Those protections are designed against custody and operational risks. They don’t insure against declines in crypto prices.) You can learn more about BitIRA’s custody and security here.
These distinctions matter because cryptocurrency investing should involve more than picking an asset and hoping its price increases.
The account provider, custodian, storage arrangements, fees and tax rules all influence the value of owning digital assets over time.
Interest is growing – and the questions still matter
Schwab’s survey offers an interesting picture of cryptocurrency’s place in American financial thinking.
Many current owners expect to increase their holdings. Many nonowners express interest. And a substantial share of respondents are considering cryptocurrency in connection with long-term growth and diversification.
At the same time, concerns about fraud, understanding and regulation still exist, and remain significant.
Those findings are both true at the same time. Because cryptocurrency presents both huge potential opportunities and meaningful risks.
The important distinction is between recognizing cryptocurrency’s potential and deciding whether it makes sense for you.
For retirement savers exploring that question, understanding the available account structures is a useful part of the research.
Our free Essential Guide to Digital IRAs explains how cryptocurrency retirement accounts work, including key features and considerations to review before making a decision.
