Key Takeaways
- 60% of wealth managers polled planned crypto allocations within a year.
- Another finding showed 60% expected higher crypto prices by year-end.
- Broader adviser research shows growing exposure alongside access barriers.
Polled Wealth Managers Signal Plans for Crypto Exposure
Potential crypto demand emerged from a presentation to 400 wealth managers, with 60% of those polled planning allocations within the following year. Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen shared the findings on Linkedin on Sept. 8 after presenting alongside Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan. The asset manager’s research executive also reported that 67% did not yet allocate to crypto.
Price expectations reflected a similarly positive outlook, with 60% anticipating higher crypto prices by the end of the year. Rasmussen wrote:
“We covered bitcoin, ethereum, solana, hyperliquid, stablecoins, tokenization, crypto regulation, and more.”
The allocation findings describe investment intentions among the audience polled, rather than a representative measure of wealth managers across the industry.
The Bitwise presentation covered investment assets and financial applications, placing portfolio exposure alongside stablecoins, tokenization, and regulatory developments. Bitcoin remains the best-known digital asset, with its decentralized network and fixed supply helping distinguish it from traditional currencies and many other crypto assets. The breadth of the discussion extended beyond price expectations to how digital assets could fit within financial services and investment portfolios.
Adviser Allocations Rise as Access Expands
Broader financial adviser research shows crypto allocations becoming more common, even as participation remains below half of respondents. The Bitwise/VettaFi 2026 benchmark survey found that 32% allocated to crypto in client accounts during 2025, up from 22% in 2024. It collected 299 eligible responses between Oct. 31 and Dec. 8, 2025, separately from Rasmussen’s presentation.
Growing participation has also shaped how Bitwise executives describe the relationship between digital assets and traditional finance. Chief Executive Hunter Horsley characterized institutional crypto adoption as already underway in March. The benchmark survey nevertheless showed that access remained uneven: 42% of advisers could purchase crypto in client accounts, compared with 35% a year earlier.
Portfolio access also features in the firm’s outlook for investment products, particularly funds that trade through established brokerage channels. In its 2026 crypto predictions, Bitwise projected more than 100 U.S. crypto-linked ETF launches. That forecast concerns potential product expansion, while Rasmussen’s audience figures address prospective allocation decisions.
Institutional Buyers Favor Regulated Investment Products
Separate institutional research points to investment vehicles and operational controls as key parts of professional investors’ crypto strategies. A Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey, published March 18, found that 73% of 351 institutional respondents planned to increase crypto allocations in 2026. Seventy-four percent expected prices to rise over the following 12 months.
That institutional survey also showed that portfolio expansion plans accompanied greater attention to how investments would be managed. Nearly half of respondents, 49%, indicated that volatility strengthened their focus on risk management, liquidity, and position sizing. Those findings concern a separate population from the wealth manager audience and measure increased exposure rather than necessarily first-time investment.
Investment preferences in the institutional survey favored familiar structures, with 66% already holding spot crypto ETFs or exchange-traded products. A larger share, 81%, preferred accessing spot crypto through a registered vehicle. Among institutions planning to increase holdings in 2026, 65% identified improved regulatory clarity as the leading factor behind that decision.
