u.today
According to a Morgan Stanley Research survey, only 12% of the banking giant's EU interns now own Bitcoin.
For comparison, 63% of them held the largest cryptocurrency in 2022.
There has been a massive drop-off in cryptocurrency ownership, with a whopping 82% of the total respondents claiming that they do not hold digital currencies at all (compared to 69% in 2024).
Ethereum ($ETH) has seen an even more stunning collapse (from 60% in 2022 to just 7% in 2025).
Cardano has witnessed a similar trend: the token went from 27% in 2022 to an infinitesimal 3% this year.
$XRP bucks the trend
Still, $XRP, which is currently the third-biggest token by market capitalization, has managed to buck the broader trend of young Morgan Stanley professionals souring from crypto.
The Ripple-affiliated token went from 0% to 5% in 2025, almost catching up with Ethereum ($ETH). It is now a more popular option compared to Cardano (ADA).
This growth can most likely be attributed to $XRP enjoying greater regulatory clarity, as well as the enormous rally in the fourth quarter of 2024 that grabbed tons of headlines.
A talent problem?
Austin Campbell, managing partner and founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting, argues that the banking sector has a talent problem.
Campbell, who previously worked at JPMorgan and Citibank, claims that
Interns who care about crypto and technology just "don't go to a bank at all now."
"But what is happening is young people hate banks, and the banks are increasingly out of touch with what is going on, moving from 1 generation to 2 generations to 3 generations behind on their understanding of technology," Campbell said.