We all know the current Gen Z rhetoric: I can’t buy a house the same way my parents did, I have crippling student loan debt, I can’t even afford a train ticket to get to a job interview. And what does this lead to: financial nihilism and the death of the British dream….
There once was a British dream; one of stability, certainty and security. And to be quite frank, Gen Z and millennials in Britain have been marred of this dream because it was politically convenient to do so, and in turn this dream has been sent to its deathbed. And now we have a generation of young Brits (soul)searching for a defibrillator to shock the British system into one reborn with different trappings of success. At a time where an incumbent Labour government is pivoting left and right to set the country on the right path, Gen Z can prove to be more erudite and actually help if listened to. Accepting and hearing this help, however, requires a non-judgmental lens when looking at the habits Gen Z have built up to then channel these animal spirits for the good of a new Britain. The way Gen Z are showing how the British dream can be revived is through a change in their attitude to risk, and the ways this attitude is shown are different but can still be helpful.
Addressing the reality
A conservative approach in Britain used to pay dividends, through home ownership, regional dynamism and accessibility to higher education. But as a lot of things after 30 years, sometimes after they’ve broken down and you’ve replaced the parts a million times, it’s time to let go and this is a key factor that Gen Z realise, and this financial nihilism is ever present.
Financial nihilism is essentially the concept that the traditional ‘slow and steady’, long term investment and attainment of assets is no longer achievable in this current economic system. As I mentioned earlier, in the UK this has manifested in Gen Z being increasingly priced out of the things their parents’ generation benefitted from, and in this nihilist state Gen Z have turned to gambling to fill this void.
In the UK, gambling amongst young people has risen from 27% in 2024 to 30% in 2025, while most young people show no signs of harm, with 27% scoring low on risk measures. This increased participation is no doubt this is partly due to the dopamine rush that gambling enables and Gen Z’s reliance on ‘’feeling something’’ in such a dire economic environment. As shown in the national survey by the Gambling Commission, Gen Z ranked last in interest of winning a large payout, hinting towards other factors being the driving force towards gambling as opposed to wanting to see a return on their investment (to be facetious).
But Gen Z turning to gambling has not only shown their appetite for risk but also provided a golden goose to the Treasury in a time when it’s looking behind the sofa for tax revenue to get the UK back on the straight and narrow. In the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced the following package of gambling duty reforms with the aim of raising over £1 billion per year in which from April 2026, Remote Gaming Duty will jump from 21% to 40%, aimed squarely at online casino-style products like slots and instant-win games. The idea being to capture some profits from this type of gambling that has low running cost and are increasing popular amongst Gen Z users who are seeking fast, repeatable, dopamine inducing bets. And this appetite for risk shown through gambling amongst Gen Z can in the short term can help the government in taxing consumption that is rife and seemingly not going away, rather than disincentivise productive investment elsewhere.
Financial nihilism and financial literacy
Now that being said, 30% of Gen Z began investing in capital markets by age 18 compared to 5% of baby boomers, and this might ostensibly seem like my whole spiel in for the last few hundred words has been pointless, that financial nihilism amongst Gen Z is over hyped etc. But it’s still important to understand what and how Gen Z’s are investing in to accelerate their success and how they are engaging with the market on their own terms to do so.
In the UK 53% of Gen Z have owned or currently own crypto. Similarly with meme coins, 28% of Gen Z are investors or have invested . Not only can these volatile assets be used to combat volatility in inflation and cost of living costs, but it can also help investment in other industries that support this kind of market engagement. And this can be a key stimulant for the UK on a macroeconomic scale.
This is because investment in crypto creates avenues for direct investment into other emerging industries. The nature of crypto and the use of blockchain apps, as well as the user platforms themselves, have enabled opportunities for software development to scale these systems in a popular industry. The UK software market is set to hit the £36 billion mark by 2029, and more importantly System Infrastructure Software will generate £5.76 billion by 2025. This again shows how the emergence of crypto sparking investment in cybersecurity to create a positive environment that will allow Gen Z to safely invest in a risky market.
How is all this investment a good thing?
The hope is that the market expansion of crypto, despite its volatility, is insulated by the innovation is creates. And given the early starting point of the Gen Z in this new asset class its current vulnerability to economic conditions may become less apparent as they grow into their careers, and hopefully build their financial security, while inadvertently helping British businesses grow. Because that’s the vital issue the UK faces today. Labours key message in Opposition was that the UK needed three things; ‘Growth , Growth, Growth’. Unfortunately that’s proving harder than ever with the UK economy only growing by 1.3% in 2025 , worse than forecasts of 1.5%, and this is only compounded by chronic under-investment seen in past decades.
Homeownership policy was the bedrock of the British dream and was an unequivocal success for the UK because it created a maturing asset class. And politicians shouldn’t turn their nose up at Gen Z who are now coming of age and showing their investment tendencies but instead play into their appetite for risk with sight of a bigger picture.
There’s evidence that there is movement in the right direction, but it has to be quicker, or am I showing my age with my thirst for instant gratification? Either way the British dream is changing, and we shouldn’t fear it; a leopard doesn’t change its spots, and I don’t think Gen Z are going to stop taking risks.
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