Billionaire Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates founder, has disclosed the source of Bitcoin’s “merit.” While speaking to Market Watch, Dalio said that although he isn’t well-versed in the leading cryptocurrency, he thinks “it has some merit.”

However, the billionaire noted that the crypto should form “a small” part of an investment portfolio.

Earlier this year, Dalio revealed that he has invested in BTC and described the virtual asset as an “interesting” gold competitor.

During the interview, the billionaire observed that the leading crypto has come a long way and has never been hacked. He added that it’s “an amazing accomplishment” for BTC to work and be “adopted the way it has been.”

According to the billionaire, the “younger generation” sees the virtual currency as a worthy competitor to precious metals like gold. Despite not having intrinsic value, Dalio noted it “has imputed value [hence] has some merit.”

Dalio’s observation coincided with a new survey released by CNBC but conducted by Spectrem Group. Titled “Millionaire Survey,” the study unearthed that many young generation millionaires have a considerable stake in cryptocurrency.

75% is in Crypto

It also noted the millennial millionaires are looking to boost their crypto allocations in the coming year.

The CNBC millionaire survey brought together millennials holding assets worth not less than one million US dollars. Out of the participants, over 80 percent disclosed they are cryptocurrency investors.

Surprisingly, more than half of those surveyed revealed that over 50 percent of their portfolio is in virtual currencies.

A third of the respondents have allocated at least 75 percent of their investments into cryptocurrencies. Apart from unearthing millennials’ high crypto appetite, the survey revealed a huge investment gap between the current and last generations.

For example, while millennials are putting more than half of their wealth in virtual currencies, the older generation only puts roughly four percent of their portfolio in crypto. “more than three-quarters of Gen X investors don’t own any crypto,” the survey stated.

According to the CNBC survey, most of the amount allocated to crypto is invested in leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH).

Spectrem Group’s president, George Walper, observed that the millennials’ high interest in virtual assets presents wealth managers with a dilemma.

Millennials Can’t Just “Grow Out” of Crypto

According to Walper, wealth managers can’t afford to ignore the asset class since “millennial millionaires are not going to just ‘grow out’ of crypto.”

The executive noted that the availability of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) enables wealth managers “to offer exposure to Bitcoin and other cryptos without being a direct holder,” hence avoiding a call from regulators

Walper added that 55 percent of millennial crypto investors are those that entered the industry “years ago with small stakes from their income.” This group holds self-made millionaires after virtual currencies’ return on investment (ROI) beat that of traditional assets such as stocks.

While most crypto critics cite volatility as the main reason for not entering the space, Walper observed most millennial crypto investors “seem to be comfortable with” it.

As billionaire Ray Dalio attributes Bitcoin’s merit to a youthful generation, a leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, declared Bitcoin the most-traded virtual asset on the platform in 2021.

In a report titled “2021 the Year of Crypto,” the crypto trading platform documented reaching more than 10 million users after an increase in new signups this year. Its trading volume also rose by more than 1,730 percent compared to 2020 and hit over 43 billion US dollars.

BTC is the Most Traded Crypto in India

According to the report, “82% of WazirX users […] made profits on their crypto investments” as of the end of last month. BTC took the lead as the most traded coin on WaxirX in 2021. It was followed by Shiba Inu (SHIB), the exchange’s native token, WRX, Tether (USDT), Dogecoin (DOGE), among others.

Notably, female users on the platform increased by over 1,000 percent compared to 829 percent for men. WazirX also noted that “crypto’s impact on ordinary people – however tremendous – transcends beyond trading to include career opportunities and a lot more.”

According to a recent survey conducted by the crypto exchange, 51 percent of participants revealed that they would want a career in virtual currencies.

In 2022, WazirX expects institutions to look beyond BTC, financial watchdogs “from India to the US” to provide regulatory clarity, and more corporate investors to enter the crypto industry.

The exchange also foresees more Web 3.0 metaverse participation and increased crypto employment.