Businesses Hold More Crypto as Younger Americans Back Digital Assets, Surveys and Payments Data Show

Generational Trust Split and Merchant Behavior Redefine Crypto’s Role in 2025–2026

TL;DR

• OKX survey in January 2026 show Gen Z and Millennials trust crypto platforms far more than Baby Boomers and plan higher usage.
• CoinGate data from H1 2025 shows 644,578 crypto payments, with crypto settlements rising to 40.9% from 27% in 2024.
• Stablecoin and Bitcoin usage patterns point to crypto being retained as operational capital, not just converted to fiat.

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An OKX survey of 1,000 Americans found younger generations expressing markedly higher confidence in cryptocurrency platforms than older cohorts, with about 40% of Gen Z respondents and 41% of Millennials giving crypto platforms trust scores of 7 out of 10 or higher, compared with 9% of Baby Boomers. The same survey showed approximately 74% of Boomers assigning high trust to traditional banks, while only about 20% of Gen Z and Millennials said they strongly trust banks.

Trust levels among younger respondents have increased compared with earlier in 2025, with 36% of Gen Z and 34% of Millennials reporting higher confidence in crypto platforms, according to the January 2026 data. Over the same period, only 11% of Boomers said they plan to increase crypto activity, compared with roughly 40% of Gen Z and 36% of Millennials who said they intend to expand their crypto use through 2026.

The survey data was contextualized against broader U.S. wealth distribution figures, which estimate total American household wealth at about $163 trillion, with Baby Boomers controlling more than half of that total, or roughly $83.3 trillion. The survey framed these figures alongside generational differences in financial preferences observed as of January 2026.

Parallel shifts are appearing in business usage of crypto, according to CoinGate’s H1 2025 payments data. CoinGate reported processing 644,578 crypto payments in the first half of 2025, as regulatory changes in Europe reshaped merchant behavior following the implementation of MiCA rules. During the same period, crypto settlements accounted for approximately 40.9% of all merchant activity, up from 27% in 2024.

Stablecoin usage changed sharply in H1 2025, with USDC payments increasing by 337% year over year and capturing 27.3% of stablecoin payment volume, up from roughly 2.5% in 2024. CoinGate reported that Bitcoin regained its position as the most-used cryptocurrency for payments after certain stablecoins were phased out in parts of the European market.

Longer-term CoinGate data covering 2014 through 2025 showed Bitcoin accounting for about 44% of all transactions processed on the platform since 2014. For 2025 year-to-date, Bitcoin represented 22.7% of total orders, followed by USDT at 19.8%, Litecoin at 14.0%, and USDC at 11.5%, according to the same dataset.

Geographic breakdowns from CoinGate’s historical payments data showed the United States accounting for approximately 40.3% of Bitcoin orders processed between 2014 and 2025, with Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada also contributing significant volumes over that period.

CoinGate’s H1 2025 report also noted a growing tendency among merchants to retain crypto revenue rather than immediately convert it to fiat currency, coinciding with the rise in settlement rates to 40.9%. The company’s data framed this behavior within the broader increase in crypto payment activity observed during the first half of 2025.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.