ChainCatcher news, Grayscale Research Director Zach Pandl published an article in the company’s column The Stack on September 28, 2026. According to the article, among U.S. investors, Generation Z started investing at an average age of 19, Millennials at 25, Generation X at 32, and Baby Boomers at 35. Based on retirement age 65, Gen Z’s investment horizon is 46 years, more than 50% longer than the 30-year horizon when baby boomers began investing.
Zach Pandl: Starting to invest earlier will expand your ability to take risk in addition to compound interest. Labor capital accounts for a larger proportion of wealth when you are younger, and longer time horizons mean more time to recover from fluctuations and more future income available to continue saving and investing, thereby expanding your lifetime risk budget. He believes that digital asset returns are both volatile and potentially asymmetric, and are more suitable for longer and more flexible maturities.
Zach Pandl also said that for investors who get started early, the cost of near-term volatility may be less than the opportunity cost of missing out on the long-term upside. With decades to rebalance, add capital, and compound across cycles, early starters may be able to allocate a higher percentage to digital assets while keeping lifetime risk balanced. Starting to invest earlier gives investors more time to absorb volatility, potentially expanding the utility of digital assets in long-term portfolios.