New research has found that older age groups have doubled their holdings of Bitcoin every month since February, signalling growing adoption of cryptocurrency during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Data compiled by in-house analysts at Mode Banking, a Bitcoin banking app, found that Baby Boomers (those aged between 56 and 76 years-old) and Generation X (41 to 55 years-old) have turned to the digital asset classes for returns as interest rates remained at historic lows during the partial shutdown of the UK economy to battle the spread of Coronavirus.

Mode saw an initial uptick in Bitcoin investments in March this year, at the same time as global markets crashed and many countries went into lockdown. As the pandemic evolved, Boomers and Gen-X began accelerating their exposure on Mode’s platform.

It comes after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that an estimated 2.6 million UK consumers have bought cryptoassets at some point, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The number marks a 1.1 million increase since the FCA completed a face-to-face survey on the same topic last year. Of the 1.9 million that still hold their cryptoassets - such as Bitcoin, Ripple or Ether - half have more than £260.

Taking February as a benchmark, Mode registered Boomers and Gen-X investing 2.24 times more in Bitcoin in March than they did in February, 4.49 times more in April, and 8.88 times more in May, pointing to growing confidence among older investors in the future of digital currencies.

However, while increased uptake among Boomers and Gen-X was a marked trend, it was Millennials and Generation Z investors that dominated the leaderboard, with their holding growing 118 per cent month-on-month prior to COVID-19 and 125 per cent during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

Janis Legler, chief product Officer at Mode, said: “We believe these to be very interesting findings, and although the reasons for this could be manifold, they could potentially reveal an unprecedented change in the way investors think today, as a result of the global pandemic.

“We expected Millennials to continue buying into cryptocurrencies, but to see more experienced investors also become increasingly interested in Bitcoin, is extremely promising for the growth of the industry,” he added.

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