Schwab's '64%' crypto number is about millennials who already own it, not millennials in general

A line circulating in bitcoin videos and social posts this week says that 64% of millennials plan to buy crypto, ahead of every other asset class. The number comes from Charles Schwab's 2026 Modern Wealth Survey, released October 7. The headline version drops the most important word in the sentence: the 64% is the share of millennials who already own crypto and say they plan to add to it over the next year.

What the survey actually says

Schwab's press release describes a poll of 2,000 Americans aged 21 to 75, fielded by the independent firm Logica Research from August 24 to September 17, 2026, with extra samples of current crypto investors, Gen Z and higher-net-worth investors. Its main crypto findings:

Among current crypto owners overall, 60% expect to increase their holdings over the next 12 months, which is the figure in the release's headline. Among millennial owners it is 64%.

The number behind the number

Multiply the two millennial figures and the picture changes. If 33% of millennials own crypto and 64% of them plan to add, that is roughly 21% of all millennials, about one in five. That is our own arithmetic, and it assumes the owner sample matches the general millennial sample, so treat it as a rough scale rather than a Schwab statistic. It is still a long way from two in three. The survey also says 23% of Americans are interested in crypto but do not own it, which is a separate pool of possible new buyers.

What dampens the enthusiasm

The same release reports that among people familiar with crypto, 52% rate it as high risk, the highest of any investment type Schwab asked about. Among non-owners, 48% cited scam or fraud worries, 39% said they did not understand how it works, and 34% pointed to a lack of regulation. Schwab's head of digital assets, Joe Vietri, framed the larger story as crypto increasingly being seen as a complement to traditional investments, not a replacement for them.

Why intentions are not purchases

A survey of plans measures sentiment, not flows. Bitcoin has fallen about 35% from its October 2025 high, and owners who say they will add more are answering in the abstract. For actual demand, watch fund flows and exchange data, not polls. See our live crypto prices and our earlier report on where long-time bitcoin holders say the cycle bottom falls.

Sources: Charles Schwab 2026 Modern Wealth Survey release (Business Wire); Crypto Briefing. Information, not investment advice.