Investing is starting to look like a casino

 Investing is starting to look like a casino

Unsplash

The investment strategies of many rank-and-file workers could be sponsored by Red Bull because of how adrenaline-inducing they’ve become. Americans are embracing speculative assets like crypto and prediction market bets to complement the diversified stock and bond portfolios your grandparents used to grow their piggy banks. Much of this trading is happening on digital platforms like Robinhood, Coinbase, and Kalshi that have made it possible to bet your net worth on red at the roulette table go long and short on speculative assets while sitting on the toilet: In 2025, 17% of American investors said they owned crypto, up from 2% in 2018, according to a Gallup poll. A recent study by Northwestern Mutual found that about a third of Gen Zers and almost a quarter of millennials said they already have invested, or planned to invest, in sports betting or prediction markets this year. Stock options—which refers to bets on the price movement of a stock that offers higher potential returns with a much higher probability of losing 100% of the money invested—are no longer solely the domain of pro traders: Retail investors’ share of stock options trading has hovered between 40% and 50% in recent years, compared to about 35% pre-pandemic, per data cited by the NYSE. Meanwhile, many Americans are tying their financial futures to volatile assets that you can store away in a locked safe—like gold, luxury watches, and trading cards. It might be financial nihilism…aka the belief that traditional investments are futile because the system is rigged, that’s driving people to chase risky investments in hopes that the higher potential returns will offer a shortcut to prosperity. For instance, there’s evidence suggesting that Americans may be placing risky bets instead of pursuing homeownership, which has become out of reach for many. Data cited by Bloomberg shows that crypto investments were more prevalent among renters with a net worth under $300,000 than among homeowners with the same wealth level.