According to Zac Prince, head of Galaxy Digital's banking venture Galaxy One, the crypto industry is poised for a significant, long-term structural tailwind from the impending transfer of generational wealth. Speaking on The Milk Road Show, Prince argued that as Baby Boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—pass down an estimated $83.3 trillion in assets, the investment preferences of younger, tech-savvy heirs will reshape financial markets.
The scale of this potential shift is monumental. Data from UBS's 2025 global wealth report indicates Americans collectively hold around $163 trillion in wealth, with Baby Boomers accounting for more than half. Over the next 20-25 years, UBS projects $83 trillion will transfer between generations globally, with $74 trillion passing directly to heirs. The United States alone accounts for over $29 trillion of this transfer.
Prince emphasized that younger investors already demonstrate a markedly greater openness to digital assets. Coinbase research found that about 45% of younger US investors own crypto, compared to just 18% of older generations. Furthermore, younger cohorts allocate 25% of their portfolios to non-traditional assets like crypto—triple the 8% allocation among older investors.
Technological familiarity is a key driver. Prince pointed to younger generations' comfort with intuitive, app-first platforms like GalaxyOne, which offer multiple financial products in one place, as a factor favoring digital-first asset classes. This contrasts with traditional models requiring contact with a broker or financial adviser.
While retail sentiment showed signs of bearishness at the end of 2024, with FINRA Foundation data indicating a drop in US investor crypto consideration from 33% to 26% between 2021 and 2024, Prince sees a divergence with accelerating institutional adoption. He cited Morgan Stanley's launch of Bitcoin ETFs and expects institutional product proliferation to continue throughout 2025.
GalaxyOne is positioning itself to capitalize on this demographic shift by targeting mass-affluent investors and launching products like corporate treasury solutions, crypto portfolio lines of credit, and staking services. Prince concluded that stablecoin adoption is increasing rapidly and might facilitate this historic wealth transfer, intersecting with a generation already committed to digital assets.
