Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) has shared insights addressing the following question: Why the presidential election could be decided by young crypto voters?
As noted in a blog post by Coinbase, young voters made “the difference in the 2020 U.S. elections and are expected to be a deciding factor again in 2024.”
Coinbase also mentioned that Gen Z and Millennial voters “make up 40% of all eligible voters, and will be the majority of the electorate by 2028 – and they disproportionately represent pro-crypto, pro-innovation voters who want to support candidates that will help improve and update the system.”
Coinbase added that any candidate that wants to win in 2024, “especially those running in the battleground states that can make or break federal elections, must account for the young, pro-crypto constituency.”
Coinbase pointed out that “only 9% of Americans say they are satisfied with the current financial system.”
And among younger Americans, “just 7% report that the financial system works well for them.”
Coinbase further noted that young voters “are fed up with an outdated system and are looking for change – and this belief is fostering an emerging, first-of-its-kind pro-crypto constituency that has elevated crypto as a key campaign issue in the 2024 election cycle.”
Young Americans make up “no small margin of voters.”
Coinbase added that Gen Z and Millennial voters “make up 40% of all eligible voters, will be the majority of the electorate by 2028, and have a proven track record of swaying elections at all levels of government.”
For example, Coinbase pointed out that in 2020, 55% of eligible voters “under 30 made their voices heard at the ballot box, eleven percentage points higher than in 2016.”
Coinbase also noted that this active constituency “is likely to be a deciding factor again in 2024; 92% of registered voters under 35 say they are likely to vote in the November election.”
Not only is this voting bloc sizable, they have “a different worldview to the generations that came before. Just 19% of Millennials and 9% of Gen Z adults feel the American Dream is achievable.”
Coinbase explained that they are actively looking for change. And part of that change is crypto. As younger generations become “more pressured financially and more disillusioned by the current system, they’re also becoming more empowered by technology and emboldened by their influence to do something about it.”
As a result, younger generations own crypto “in significantly greater numbers than older populations – with 25% of those aged 18-34 owning crypto compared to 14% of older Americans.”
And as we can see by the growing number of pledged Stand with Crypto advocates – 1.33 million at the time of writing – they’re looking “for candidates who match their drive for innovative new solutions to systemic problems.”
Coinbase added that with fewer than 80 days to go until “the 2024 elections, candidates on both sides of the aisle who wish to win this November must pay attention to the young, diverse, pro-crypto constituency that can make or break campaigns.”
Contrary to popular opinion, crypto is “a non-partisan issue: 41% of previous or current crypto owners under 35 in swing states identify as Democrats, 39% identify as Republicans, and 20% identify as independent or other.”
And now, younger voters’ embrace of crypto has “helped make crypto policy a key topic on the campaign trail this year.”
Nearly two in five (38%) say crypto and blockchain can “increase economic opportunities for them in ways traditional finance can’t.”
Coinbase added that almost four in ten (38%) see crypto “as the future of finance. And importantly, more than half (51%) of them are likely to throw their weight behind crypto-friendly candidates in 2024.”
Young voters can tip the scales for “either party – and this is all the more critical in battleground states where a handful of ballots can mean the path to victory for either party.”
With this new generation of voters comes a new focus on digital asset innovation. A poll released in May of this year shows “more than 20% of voters in several battleground states consider crypto to be a key issue in the upcoming U.S. elections.”
Coinbase pointed out that “when you narrow to the newest generation of voters, 90% of Gen Z previous and current crypto owners in five key swing states think the financial system needs change, and 61% of previous and current crypto owners under 35 in five key swing states say they are enthusiastic about voting this year for candidates who support the crypto industry.”
As 2024 candidates up and down the ballot make their final push toward election day, these proof points should serve “as an unmistakable call to action: young, pro-crypto voters are going to make their voices heard at the ballot box this year.”
Politicians who want their votes must “address the future they are asking for.”
As stated in a blog post by Coinbase, that future “is financial and economic freedom.”
And crypto will be “the path to that future,” Coinbase claims.