With house ownership becoming an increasingly distant dream, young Americans are turning to cryptocurrency.
Gen Z is being blamed for being lazy at work, luxury spending, and a “Yolo” attitude to risky investments like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
However, the youngsters have embraced these labels and their behavior can even be said to be rational due to worsening economic conditions, including housing becoming increasingly unaffordable.
This is the finding of a recent Financial Times report by John Burn-Murdoch.
Unaffordable housing and crypto
Two economists, Seung Hyeong Lee at Northwestern University and Younggeun Yoo at the University of Chicago, recently published a study which shows that less work, more leisure, and investment in “risky” financial assets like cryptocurrencies are all disproportionately common among youngsters who aren’t able to afford a house.
Those with houses or with prospects of soon owning a house, in contrast, take fewer risks, the research showed.
If steady saving and traditional asset accumulation no longer suffice to secure a home, some households may instead pursue high-risk, high-return strategies such as investing in cryptocurrencies as a last resort, the study said.
House prices in the U.S. rose 2.2% between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, according to the U.S. Federal Housing (FHFA) House Price Index (FHFA HPI).
Nationally, the U.S. housing market has experienced positive annual appreciation each quarter since the start of 2012.
Burn-Murdoch wrote,
“It’s all very well bemoaning the growing economic nihilism of younger generations — and the evidence bears it out — but they’re just playing the cards they have been dealt.”
When he extended the research to the United Kingdom, a similar picture emerged.
Youngsters with little to no prospects of owning a house soon are more likely to take financial risks than those within reach of owning a house.
