A new study warns that a growing share of young Americans is turning to cryptocurrency not as an ideological choice, but as a financial gamble driven by despair over housing costs.
The report argues that soaring home prices have reshaped how an entire generation thinks about money, risk and opportunity.
As the possibility of owning a home fades, financial behavior shifts just as dramatically. Instead of saving for a down payment, many turn to volatile assets that offer a chance at a sudden leap in wealth. “Crypto becomes a substitute for the American Dream,” the authors write, describing digital assets as vehicles for high-risk, high-reward betting when conventional goals feel unreachable.
Researchers found that the median US house price-to-income ratio has risen so sharply since the 1980s that today’s young adults would need nearly two extra years of income to afford the same home their parents could.
Compared with homeowners of similar net worth, discouraged renters rack up about 10% more in credit card spending and are far more likely to disengage from long-term career ambition. The study links this mindset to the rising phenomenon of “quiet quitting,” where workers remain employed but emotionally checked out.
The research identifies a tipping point the authors call “discouraged renters.” Once people conclude homeownership is no longer realistic, their financial habits change in lasting ways.
Crypto, the report notes, becomes a “last-chance lever,” a way to try to beat a system that no longer feels fair. Welfare programs soften the blow of failure, encouraging moonshot risk-taking with limited downside.
Wealth levels also change how people interact with crypto. Renters holding between $50,000 and $300,000 in assets show the highest participation, falling into what the report describes as a no-man’s-land: too creditworthy to give up, yet too poor to buy property.
