Gen Z Crypto Investing Exposes Trust Gap as 64% Rely on AI

Australia’s securities regulator dropped data Sunday that shows gen z crypto investing runs on social media and AI chatbots. Not exactly a confidence-inspiring foundation.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission surveyed 1,127 people aged 18-28 between November 28 and December 10. Results: 23% own crypto. 63% use social media for financial decisions. 64% trust AI platforms for money advice. That’s higher than their trust in actual finfluencers, which sits at 52%.

“Gen Z has a strong appetite for reputable and trustworthy financial content, but many struggle to find it,” ASIC noted in the release. “Their search often leads them to sources designed for engagement rather than accuracy.”

Translation: TikTok crypto tips, ChatGPT portfolio builders, YouTube thumbnail faces screaming about 100x gains.

Not ideal.

**The Numbers Behind Gen Z Crypto Investing**

Let’s break down the gen z crypto investing data. Of the 23% who own digital assets, 29% trade based on social media and influencer content. That’s roughly 1 in 3 young crypto holders making buy/sell decisions because someone with 50,000 followers said so.

18% use AI platforms for financial guidance. 30% rely on YouTube specifically. The trust levels tell the real story: 56% somewhat or completely trust financial information on social media. AI scored highest at 64%.

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland told the Australian Financial Review the regulator’s been tracking marketing designed to push people into investments. “Some of that is actually encouraging people to invest in scams,” he said.

He’s not wrong. I’ve traded through enough cycles to spot the pattern. Bull market arrives. Influencer count explodes. Rug pulls follow. Every time.

The regulator already moved on this last June, issuing warning notices to 18 influencers suspected of promoting high-risk products without licenses. That’s the enforcement. This survey is the why.

**What’s Driving Gen Z Crypto Investing?**

Accessibility, mostly. You can’t buy a house at 24 in Sydney. You can buy $100 of Solana on your phone in 90 seconds. The friction’s gone. The guardrails went with it.

Kirkland flagged Australia’s $4.5 trillion superannuation market—retirement funds—as a target for unqualified advice. “Super is often people’s most valuable asset, and that’s why disreputable people often target it,” he explained. “It can be so tragic if people are encouraged to put it into a risky investment.”

Switching super based on a TikTok video. That’s the world now.

The crypto angle adds another layer. “You don’t see that same volatility in other types of investments,” Kirkland said. “Often that volatility is driven by forces that it’s impossible for an individual sitting in Australia to understand.”

He’s describing macro, geopolitical risk, exchange flow dynamics, Fed policy spillover. The stuff that moves Bitcoin 8% overnight while you’re asleep. Good luck getting that analysis from a ChatGPT prompt.

**AI Financial Advice in the Crosshairs**

ASIC’s “watching very closely” what financial information AI tools spit out, according to Kirkland. Australian law requires licenses for anyone giving personal financial advice. That includes AI.

“If an AI tool is making recommendations about individual financial products, taking into account individual circumstances, that would be personal advice, so it needs to be licensed,” he said.

Problem: exchanges already integrated AI. MEXC, KuCoin, Bitget all offer AI bots for personalized trading guidance or “trading partners.” Whether those qualify as licensed advice is the grey area ASIC’s eyeing.

“One of the most surprising findings was the degree of trust young people are placing in AI platforms,” Kirkland added. The quality of AI output “depends very much on the nature of the questions you’re asking, how specific those questions are, and the quality of the sources that AI is able to draw upon.”

Ask ChatGPT about Bitcoin’s correlation to Nasdaq during rate hike cycles. You’ll get an answer. Whether it’s accurate is a coin flip.

I’ve seen traders use AI to backtest strategies. Works fine for identifying patterns. Breaks completely when market structure shifts. 2022 proved that. Everyone’s algo said buy the dip at $40,000. Bitcoin went to $15,500.

**The Regulatory Tightening Ahead**

ASIC warned in late January that crypto and AI firms exploiting licensing grey areas around payments will be a top priority in 2026. This survey provides the public justification.

Meanwhile, Ripple is targeting April for an Australian financial license via acquisition, per separate reporting. The regulated players are positioning. The unregulated influencers and AI tools face scrutiny.

Kirkland’s core message: if it sounds like financial advice, it needs a license. That applies whether it’s a 22-year-old with a ring light or a large language model trained on Reddit posts.

The gen z crypto investing trend isn’t reversing. 23% ownership at this age is higher than any previous generation at the same life stage. But how they’re making decisions—social media, AI, influencers optimizing for clicks—that’s what regulators globally are starting to target.

Same dynamic played out in the UK with the FCA, in the US with the SEC’s influencer crackdowns. Australia’s following the script.

For now, the data’s out. The warnings are issued. Whether Gen Z adjusts their trust accordingly is the open question. Next ASIC enforcement action will answer that.