10 Cryptocurrencies Millennials are Buying for Retirement

In this article, we discuss the 10 cryptocurrencies millennials are buying for retirement. If you want to read about some cryptocurrencies that millennials are buying, go directly to 5 Cryptocurrencies Millennials are Buying for Retirement

The past few months have been a breakthrough period for the crypto industry in many respects. Bitcoin, the most popular coin, has hit new all-time highs along with Ethereum, the second most popular coin. There have been equally jaw-dropping declines in the prices of these cryptocurrencies as inflation rages on and batters the growth market. Institutional buying into crypto has also increased as interest in digital currencies as an inflation hedge soars. However, the industry is still very much in the process of evolving.  

Governments around the world, including in the United States, are close to introducing regulation to bring cryptocurrencies into the official fold. The recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by the US Congress includes crypto tax reporting provisions that make it easier for the tax authorities to track crypto activity. Ben Weiss, the head of cryptocurrency buying platform CoinFlip, has said that “regulation is a good thing for the industry” and that it gives people “more confidence in crypto”. 

As regulation around the crypto world improves, investors are also latching onto the possibility of holding cryptocurrencies in their retirement accounts. It is still not possible to hold cryptocurrencies directly in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) but digital coins can be traded within an IRA. However, not all IRA providers allow the purchasing of cryptocurrencies. As a result, a custodian industry has popped up that offers investments in the crypto space under the “alternative investment” banner. 

A key statistic that highlights the popularity of crypto investments is that the year-to-date inflows into digital asset investment products reached close to $9 billion in November last year, per digital asset manager CoinShares, up more than $2 billion from inflows over the same period in 2020. Some of the top stocks in the space included Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ), and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL). Investments in these growth stocks for retirement have also been increasing, specially in the context of Peter Thiel and his $5 billion Roth IRA. 

Our Methodology

These were picked from a careful assessment of the cryptoverse. The details of each cryptocurrency are mentioned alongside a discussion around top companies working in the sector to provide readers with some context for their investment decisions. 

A database of around 900 elite hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey was used to calculate the popularity of these firms among hedge funds.

Cryptocurrencies Millennials are Buying for Retirement

10. Chainlink

Chainlink is a blockchain network that acts as a decentralized oracle which uses blockchain technology to enable non-blockchain enterprises to connect to the crypto world. For example, one of the most popular uses of the Chainlink network is to connect smart contracts on the chain with external data. This data comes from the real world, like baseball scores or stock prices. Chainlink is based on the Ethereum platform and is an open-source blockchain. Chainlink tokens are used to pay operators who handle off-chain data and computing. 

Chainlink has gained in popularity as companies like Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), the California-based technology giant, mainstream cryptocurrencies. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based investment firm TCI Fund Management is a leading shareholder in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) with 2.9 million shares worth more than $8.5 billion. 

Just like Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ), and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the stocks that millennials are flocking to as the crypto mania sweeps the globe. 

In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Vulcan Value Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“In contrast, we made a different kind of mistake about a decade ago. Google, now Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), performed very well for us while we owned it. The company kept outperforming our assumptions and we kept lowering them to be conservative. “Trees do not grow to the sky.” The stock kept going up and our value grew but did not keep pace with the stock. It hit our estimate of fair value and we sold it with a nice gain, patting ourselves on the back. We kept following the company and what they actually did over the next several years was roughly double the assumptions we used to value it. Therefore, our value was too conservative, and we sold it too cheaply, missing many years of compounding. Fortunately, we experienced some volatility several years ago that allowed us to purchase Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (Google) again with a margin of safety.”

9. Sandbox

Sandbox is the virtual currency of the metaverse platform Sandbox. The platform is built on the Ethereum blockchain and allows people to trade their digital assets in a virtual world. Recent reports suggest that Sandbox is planning to raise $400 million in funding from investors and seeking a valuation of around $4 billion. The Sandbox platform allows users to buy and sell virtual forms of plots of land, cars, art and other properties. These are traded in the form of non-fungible tokens. The native coin of the platform has a market cap of over $3.2 billion. 

Sandbox and coins like it have gained recognition in the mainstream finance world through the efforts of firms like CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), the Illinois-based derivatives exchange. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 55 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $2.7 billion in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME), compared to 64 the preceding quarter worth $2.6 billion.

In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME), for example, maintains a dominant franchise in electronic commodities and options trading with high incremental margins. Its interest rate trading business had been depressed coming out of the recession, but with a tightening policy environment, it now provides upside optionality that augments robust free cash flow growth and capital return. Willscot Mobile Mini is another compounder that executed well through the pandemic but was not initially recognized for the synergies of its Mobile Mini acquisition. The deal has reduced costs and created greater operating leverage as the company rides the tailwinds of improving industrial production and construction.”

8. Fantom

Fantom is a cryptocurrency launched by developers in Australia in 2019. Since then, the headquarters of the network have been shifted to South Korea. The coin was launched with around 3 billion tokens three years ago. 40% were set aside for investors and 25% were allocated for advisors and founders. The network plans to distribute all the tokens by 2024. The Fantom system handles nearly $12 billion in assets, making it the third largest crypto system after Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Fantom is disrupting the world of crypto like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), the EV maker from California, disrupted the auto industry. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 91 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $12.9 billion in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), up from 60 in the previous quarter worth $10.6 billion.

Here is what ClearBridge Investments has to say about Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Within the growth universe we target, emerging growth stocks – the category with the highest revenue growth rates – significantly underperformed the overall growth categories in 2021 after leading performance in 2020. The pull-through effect on digitization, online access across industries, and spending to modernize outdated corporate infrastructures accelerated trends in a highly compressed time frame. Much of that trend slackened in 2021 and shares of these companies, while showing good top-line growth, saw slowing appreciation from the blistering pace in the prior year. With that moderating growth, multiples decelerated from 2020 highs. Bucking the headwinds among our emerging growth names was Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) which saw continued sales momentum from their leadership positions in the key growth areas of electric vehicles.”

7. Tezos

Tezos is a blockchain network that has developed a different governance mechanism compared to other coins. Instead of relying on development teams and mining communities for decisions related to new design choices, the founders have incorporated this system into the networks of users. As part of this plan, the network incentivizes people through different methods for participation in the core development process. The token holders of Tezos are allowed to have a say in the overall development process on the network. 

Tezos has gained mainstream recognition through the crypto education efforts of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA), the New York-based payments processing firm. Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Virginia-based investment firm Akre Capital Management is a leading shareholder in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) with 5.8 million shares worth more than $2.1 billion. 

In its Q4 2021 investor letter, Saturna Capital, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“Given the likelihood of rising inflation and interest rates ahead, we anticipate adjustments to the portfolio to reduce exposure to highly valued stocks dependent on low interest rates to support terminal year valuations, while seeking investments in companies more correlated with a return to economic normalcy. We sold our position in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA). Although Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) does not charge or collect interest, its association with credit activities was problematic.”

6. Theta

Theta is a blockchain network designed specially for peer-to-peer video streaming and delivery. Users on the platform share bandwidth and computing resources. The Theta token is used to perform a number of governance tasks within the Theta ecosystem. Large companies like Google, Binance and Samsung validate these tasks. Some of the advantages of streaming on the Theta blockchain instead of traditional streaming services include rewards for watching, reduced costs, and higher quality streaming. 

Theta and other crypto coins make use of the machines developed by NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), the microchip maker from California. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 110 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $10.4 billion in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), up from 83 in the previous quarter worth $10 billion. 

Along with Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), Block, Inc. (NYSE:SQ), and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is one of the stocks that millennials are buying as cryptocurrencies become more mainstream. 

In its Q4 2021 investor letter, ClearBridge Investments, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:

“During the fourth quarter, the ClearBridge Global Growth Strategy outperformed its MSCI ACWI benchmark. The Strategy delivered gains across eight of the nine sectors in which it was invested (out of 11 total), with the information technology (IT) and industrials sectors the primary contributors. The communication services sector was the sole detractor. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022. Bucking the headwinds among our emerging growth names was NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which saw continued sales momentum from their leadership positions in the key growth areas of graphics processing units for gaming and data centers.”

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Disclosure. None. 10 Cryptocurrencies Millennials are Buying for Retirement is originally published on Insider Monkey.