With any shift from old to new, there will always be resistance. There is a learning curve to the internet, to artificial intelligence, or to any other breakthrough technology. These changes can be particularly challenging for older generations, but age alone is not the obstacle.
Crypto’s user interface has presented additional challenges for the masses. Dealing directly with crypto assets onchain through hardware wallets and seed phrases is not particularly difficult but there are large swathes of the population that have neither the technical knowledge, nor the desire to up-skill sufficiently to feel safe enough to store significant portions of their net worth in these assets.
The launch of ETFs in the US in January 2024 changes this dynamic, allowing anyone with a brokerage account to invest. I expect there will be other solutions which make self-custody security (security without a third-party intermediary) easier for non-technical users, allowing users to utilize the technology day-to-day, but it takes time for all these functionality layers to be built.
We must also appreciate that there is a difference between using the internet to search for a product online or using AI to plan a business project, versus storing significant portions of one’s wealth in a new financial technology. The stakes are higher with crypto, and this could be hampering financial professionals’ approval. The higher stakes draw in some investors but are off-putting to others who would rather wait until the risks have declined and the technology is second nature.
But financial professionals are smart, tech savvy people. Technical friction does not explain the visceral reaction when speaking to your resident economist.