While you're still collecting blessings for Chinese New Year, Generation Z is already dividing up Bitcoin.

Author: Blockchain Knight

In the 2026 Spring Festival, swept by the AI ​​wave, the expression of the New Year's spirit is showing distinct generational differences.

Alipay's "Collect Blessings" campaign, which has lasted for ten years, continues to dominate social media. Yuanbao's latest Spring Festival red envelopes have become a daily sharing activity for the public. These classic activities continue the logic of equitable distribution of Spring Festival benefits and are a new custom brought about by the internet in the public's perception.

However, in the world of Web3, the young generation, mainly Generation Z (aged 16 to 30), has already broken out of the framework of small red envelopes and started a new trend of sharing Bitcoin.

While the traditional internet is still playing with closed-loop traffic, digital natives have already completed a new cognitive leap. A paradigm shift regarding red envelopes, wealth, and trust is quietly taking place this Spring Festival.

The special Spring Festival events launched by many Web3 organizations are a typical microcosm of this transformation, and they also show us that digital assets are becoming a new carrier for the younger generation to send New Year's greetings.

An unstoppable trend: from physical red envelopes to digital assets

As the most representative symbol of the Spring Festival, the form of red envelopes has always evolved in sync with the times.

Once upon a time, cash envelopes wrapped in red paper were the most precious New Year's gifts, carrying the expectations of elders for younger generations.

Nowadays, physical red envelopes have long lost their actual consumption attributes and have become a symbol of ritual.

For those born in the 1990s, 2000s, and even 2010s, the surprises of the New Year come more from digital red envelopes on mobile phones. One-click transfers via WeChat and Alipay make the transmission of blessings instant and convenient.

This also confirms a fact: the transformation of red envelopes from physical to digital is irreversible, and the emergence of digital assets has taken this transformation to a new dimension.

Behind this change lies a complete reconstruction of the younger generation's understanding of assets.

In his speech at the 2026 New Year's Eve dinner, OKX CEO Star accurately pointed out the cognitive differences between generations: "More and more young people, those born in the 90s, 95s, and 00s, have grown up listening to stories about Bitcoin since birth."

However, different generations have vastly different answers to the question of "how to store assets more safely".

For the older generation, large banks and mature traditional financial systems are synonymous with asset security, and financial products developed over many years are modern and easy to use.

However, in the eyes of the younger generation, on-chain tools such as OKX Wallet and Coinbase Wallet are the new tools for managing assets. This also reveals a cruel and real trend: trust is shifting from institutions to code.

From digital red envelopes to digital assets, it essentially reflects the younger generation's deep identification with the digital world. As consumption, social interaction, and work have all migrated online, the digitization of assets has naturally become an inevitable trend.

Why do Generation Z favor digital assets?

Of course, Generation Z's preference for digital assets is not accidental, but rather the result of the combined effects of their upbringing and the characteristics of their era.

As true digital natives, Generation Z grew up alongside the rapid development of the internet. They were born into a digital world, spending more than half of their time online every day. Core aspects of their lives, such as social interaction, entertainment, learning, and consumption, are deeply intertwined with the digital world.

In this environment, Generation Z has a natural acceptance and sensitivity to digital things.

For them, the digital world is not a supplement to the real world, but an important part of life, and digital assets naturally become a given in their perception.

This innate sensitivity allows Generation Z to adopt an open attitude towards all kinds of digital assets. From NFTs and digital collectibles to crypto assets, these things that seem "ethereal" to the older generation are seen as "hard currency" in the digital world by Generation Z.

Generation Z's pursuit of digital assets is not only driven by curiosity about new things, but also by an affirmation of the value of the digital world. They hope to own assets that can be verified in the digital world, and crypto assets happen to meet this need.

Global survey data also confirms the high acceptance of digital assets among Generation Z.

Previous surveys have shown that over 51% of Gen Z Americans have owned or have owned cryptocurrency, while in financial innovation hubs like Singapore, the figure is even closer to 60%.

Compared to the traditional financial system, Generation Z is more accepting of the transparency and fairness of decentralized finance. They dislike information asymmetry and pursue equal opportunities for participation. The decentralized concept represented by crypto assets is highly consistent with the values ​​of Generation Z.

Furthermore, Generation Z's wealth accumulation is still in its early stages, and they are more willing to try high-growth emerging assets. As a core product of the digital economy, various digital assets are generally favored by the younger generation for their development potential.

Is the BTC giveaway just a publicity stunt or a genuine big spender?

Seeing a host of Web3 brands launching their own Chinese New Year activities is quite an eye-opener, at least the Spring Festival has arrived "on the blockchain".

In particular, when the established institution OKX launched its "Welcoming the God of Wealth" Chinese New Year special event, announcing that users would share 28 bitcoins (worth 13 million), many people questioned whether it was just a gimmick.

However, once we delve into the event rules and benefits, we discover that this event is not a marketing gimmick, but rather a sincere gesture from OKX with real money, and a beneficial exploration and bold attempt by the Web3 industry to combine digital assets with traditional New Year customs.

The total prize pool for this event is as high as 10 million US dollars, with benefits covering both new and existing users, and the gameplay is designed to be both fun and engaging.

In the core "Collect Five Blessings" gameplay, users only need to complete the registration to obtain blessing cards through various tasks. The task settings take into account different types of users, with reasonable thresholds and clear upper limits, which is similar to Alipay's "Collect Blessings" game.

The most exciting part of the event was the "Hash Lucky Draw," where users holding the "Fortune God's Blessing" had the chance to win a grand prize of 1 BTC by matching the BTC block hash value.

By combining the core characteristics of blockchain with Spring Festival benefits, the lottery results are made public, transparent, and tamper-proof. Users can query the relevant hash values ​​on the BTC block explorer, thus ensuring the fairness and impartiality of the event.

From the size of the prize pool and the design of the gameplay to the setting of the rules, the series of activities demonstrate great sincerity. They not only allow users to enjoy the benefits of digital assets, but also allow more people to understand the core features of Web3 through simple games, making it a learning experience while playing.

The form may change, but the core remains the same.

The advent of the AI ​​era has made the digital world increasingly prominent, and has also made the digital economy a core trend in global economic development.

The essence of Chinese New Year red envelopes is the transmission of blessings and the connection of emotions. From paper cash to digital red envelopes, and now to sharing BTC, the form of red envelopes has changed, but the core has remained the same.

Alipay's "Collect Blessings" and "Yuanbao Red Envelopes" are a continuation of traditional New Year customs in the digital age; while OKX's BTC sharing event is an innovative expression of traditional New Year customs by Web3.

Regardless of the form, they all represent people's hopes for the New Year and the inheritance of the Spring Festival red envelope culture.

The development of digital assets is not about overturning tradition, but about innovating on the basis of tradition.

Whether it's collecting blessings or sharing Bitcoin, these are all vehicles for New Year's wishes. However, as the younger generation takes the baton, they choose to define their own New Year's wishes in a more transparent, fair, and valuable way.

In the future, with the continuous development of the digital economy, the application scenarios of digital assets will become more diverse, and their integration with traditional life will become closer. The continued participation of Generation Z will become the core driving force for the development of digital assets, a trend that has already been proven true.

Finally, with the Spring Festival approaching, I wish you all the best and that all your wishes come true! I also hope you can become a lucky player in the "Hash Koi" event.