How Younger Generations Are Redefining Wealth Through Crypto And Collectibles

Summary Millennials and Gen Z are entering an economy where many of the traditional paths to building wealth don’t feel as accessible as they once ￰0￱ assets bring ￰1￱ also create a sense of permanence in an environment where everything else can feel volatile or ￰2￱ building bridges between established frameworks and new asset classes, we can support a broader, more inclusive definition of investing — one that reflects the full spectrum of value in a changing ￰3￱ Millennials and Gen Z face barriers to traditional wealth building, they’re embracing crypto and collectibles, finding value in scarcity, digital ownership, and cultural significance.

We’re watching a quiet shift unfold in the financial world. It’s not driven by policy changes or institutional mandates, but by how younger generations are rethinking the role of money, ownership, and ￰4￱ and Gen Z are entering an economy where many of the traditional paths to building wealth don’t feel as accessible as they once ￰5￱ estate is out of reach for ￰6￱ markets feel increasingly abstract or dominated by large ￰7￱ inflation, while rarely headline news anymore, continues to chip away at purchasing power in a way that’s hard to ￰8￱ doesn’t mean this generation is disengaging from the ￰9￱ just means they’re looking for alternative ￰10￱ the more interesting trends are two areas that might seem unrelated at first: crypto and ￰11￱ share something ￰12￱ rely on scarcity, carry strong cultural meaning, and offer a level of ownership that feels more direct and ￰13￱ on Their Own Terms It’s not that younger investors are anti-finance.

They’re just playing a different game based on the hand they’ve been ￰14￱ many, wage growth hasn’t kept up with asset ￰15￱ a home, especially in major cities, has become far more ￰16￱ investment opportunities are still limited to accredited ￰17￱ even with index funds or ETFs, the market often feels distant or detached from real ￰18￱ the shift we’re seeing is ￰19￱ are looking for assets that are easier to access, more transparent, and better aligned with how they live and operate day to day. That’s what makes crypto and collectibles so ￰20￱ offer flexibility, portability, and, in many cases, they live in the same digital environments that these generations already spend most of their time ￰21￱ Continues to be a Signal of Value Scarcity has always been part of the investing story.

It’s what gives value to fine art, rare wine, or classic cars. What’s different now is how younger investors are applying that same thinking to a broader mix of assets. A limited-edition trading card, a pair of collectible sneakers, or a fixed-supply token offers something you can’t easily ￰22￱ stands in contrast to a world that feels increasingly saturated — whether it’s liquidity, data, or ￰23￱ assets bring ￰24￱ also create a sense of permanence in an environment where everything else can feel volatile or ￰25￱ Digital Scarcity and Physical Ownership Blockchain technology made something possible that didn’t really exist ￰26￱ the first time, you could verify ownership of a digital item without needing a third party to vouch for ￰27￱ simple shift opened the door to all kinds of possibilities.

Suddenly, a digital item could be treated like a physical collectible, with transparent provenance, fixed supply, and access to global markets. We’ve seen this play out in multiple ways: NFT IP Expansion : Pudgy Penguins , which began as a profile picture (PFP) NFT project, has grown into a full-fledged IP powerhouse — expanding into toys, licensing deals, and mainstream ￰28￱ shows how digital-native communities can evolve into brands with staying ￰29￱ Schnetzler, Pudgy Penguin CEO, speaking at VanEck’s Web3 Takeover event. “Phygital” Collectibles : Companies like Orange Cap Games have taken Pudgy IP as one example, a step further by creating a trading card game that bridges physical and digital.

It’s not just a product; it’s a new kind of collectible experience, where ownership, gameplay, and blockchain verification all ￰30￱ Promo Card from Orange Cap ￰31￱ Assets : Beyond IP, tokenized real-world assets now allow people to invest in trading cards, watches, or art without needing to physically custody ￰32￱ tied to tangible goods provide built-in authenticity and ownership ￰33￱ scarcity doesn’t replace physical ￰34￱ expands what’s possible, creating hybrid experiences that are both cultural and ￰35￱ Represent More Than Financial Value What’s often overlooked in these conversations is that crypto and collectibles also carry cultural weight.

A rare card or a unique NFT can say something about who you are, what you value, or the communities you belong to. A wallet can function as both a portfolio and a social ￰36￱ might feel unusual from a traditional finance perspective, but it’s second nature to people who grew up ￰37￱ isn’t only measured in return on capital. It’s also about meaning, relevance, and ￰38￱ Risks, Yet Advancing Forward Like any nascent market, there are risks. Volatility, fraud, and speculation are all part of the ￰39￱ all platforms are equal, and not every project is built to ￰40￱ that doesn’t mean the space isn’t evolving.

We’re seeing real progress in areas like custody, compliance, authentication, and ￰41￱ infrastructure is starting to support these markets in a more serious way. It’s easy to focus on the noise, but beneath it is a clear ￰42￱ is genuine demand for assets that blend scarcity, utility, and cultural ￰43￱ demand is unlikely to fade anytime ￰44￱ Finance’s Role in a Changing Market At VanEck, we see this trend as an opportunity, not a ￰45￱ in the future, it could be interesting to help connect investors to the assets and strategies they care about, with the same level of trust and infrastructure they’ve come to expect from traditional financial markets.

There’s a generation coming up that wants access to scarce, verifiable, globally tradable ￰46￱ want ownership models that reflect how they live, communicate, and ￰47￱ are not abandoning the financial system. They’re just choosing to engage with it on their terms. That’s why we’ve begun experimenting in this space ourselves: SegMint: Originally launched as a collectibles marketplace, SegMint is now being developed into a backend infrastructure project designed to power the tokenization, authentication, and trading of real-world ￰48￱ Collectibles App (coming early 2026): On the consumer side, we’re building a social-first platform where collectors can scan, showcase, and trade their items more seamlessly — with digital binders, trade matching, and community features that make collecting more connected and ￰49￱ building bridges between established frameworks and new asset classes, we can support a broader, more inclusive definition of investing — one that reflects the full spectrum of value in a changing ￰50￱ Disclosures This is a marketing ￰51￱ content is intended for educational purposes ￰52￱ note that the availability of the services mentioned may vary by ￰53￱ is not an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation to buy or sell any of the securities, financial instruments or digital assets mentioned ￰54￱ information presented does not involve the rendering of personalized investment, financial, legal, tax advice, or any call to ￰55￱ statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward-looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are for illustrative purposes only, are valid as of the date of this communication, and are subject to change without ￰56￱ future performance of any assets or industries mentioned are ￰57￱ provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be ￰58￱ does not guarantee the accuracy of third party ￰59￱ information herein represents the opinion of the author(s), but not necessarily those of VanEck/SegMint or its other ￰60￱ investment in a cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (“ETP”) or other digital asset investment vehicle is subject to significant risk and may not be suitable for all ￰61￱ value of digital assets, including but not limited to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies, is highly volatile and you can lose your entire principal ￰62￱ ETPs are not registered investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) and therefore are not subject to the same regulatory protections afforded to mutual funds or ETFs registered under the 1940 ￰63￱ Factors associated with the use of SegMint There are specific risks associated with the use of ￰64￱ are risks associated with acquiring NFTs or Keys from or via ￰65￱ buy NFTs or Keys involves special risks, including very high volatility and political, economic and currency risks and differences in accounting ￰66￱ could potentially lose all your NFTs and Keys in your SegMint ￰67￱ technology used by SegMint is new and many of its uses may be untested; intense competition; slow adoption rates and the potential for product obsolescence; loss or destruction of key(s) to access wallets or the blockchain; reliance on wallets; reliance on unregulated markets and exchanges; reliance on the internet; cybersecurity risks; and the lack of regulation and the potential for new laws and regulation that may be difficult to predict.

Web3 Companies include but are not limited to, companies that involve the development, innovation, and/or utilization of blockchain, digital assets, or crypto ￰68￱ part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission of ￰69￱ investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you ￰70￱ with any investment strategy, there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met and investors may lose ￰71￱ does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining ￰72￱ performance is no guarantee of future results. © SegMint © Van Eck Associates Corporation Original Post Editor's Note: The summary bullets for this article were chosen by Seeking Alpha editors.