Key Takeaways
- None of the 15 interviewees reduced its crypto allocation during the market decline.
- Several investors without positions were in advanced due diligence.
- Bitwise expects a majority of institutional investors to hold crypto within five years.
Institutions Held Through the Sell-Off as Others Weighed Buying
Some of the world’s largest institutions held their crypto allocations through a roughly 50% market decline between October 2025 and April 2026. None of the 15 interviewed by Bitwise reduced its allocation during that period, and several bought more, according to the firm’s institutional crypto adoption report published Sept. 23. The interviews were conducted between late March and April.
Potential buyers were also part of the group. Several participants who had yet to allocate were in advanced due diligence, while multiple sovereign wealth funds were actively examining sizable positions. Their decisions may take longer to appear in public holdings: One sovereign investor told Bitwise that building the legal and regulatory infrastructure for an allocation could take more than a year.
The investors’ willingness to hold during a decline helped shape Bitwise’s outlook. None named a price drop as a reason it would sell. An investment consultant described the longer-term view:
“If the thesis is right, given the S-curve of adoption, selling now would be selling too early.”
Interest from another group points in the same direction, though plans are not purchases. In a separate poll of wealth managers discussed by Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen on Sept. 8, 60% of respondents planned a crypto allocation within a year, while 67% had none at the time.
Existing Positions Show How Institutions Are Entering
Crypto allocations among Bitwise’s interviewees ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, with most between 1% and 2%. Family offices reported the largest positions and could often act with approval from one principal. Sovereign wealth funds tended to hold smaller allocations while working through more layers of review. Bitwise found that allocation size tracked almost inversely with how many people had to approve it.
Every interviewee that owned crypto held bitcoin, generally as its first, largest, and longest-held crypto position. Some also held ether or solana in smaller amounts. Those investors attached conditions to the latter positions, including whether growing use of the networks would produce value for their tokens.
Public disclosures offer examples of substantial positions already in place. Two Abu Dhabi investment vehicles held nearly $764 million in Blackrock bitcoin ETF shares at the end of June without reducing their combined net share count during the second quarter. Their disclosed holdings are separate from the anonymous institutions in Bitwise’s study.
Access has become easier for many allocators. Almost every institution Bitwise interviewed either used spot crypto exchange-traded funds or planned to use them, citing lower costs and simpler administration. A spot bitcoin ETF provides price exposure through brokerage-held shares while the fund handles custody of the underlying bitcoin. Bitwise also found that some institutions use vehicles outside Form 13F disclosure, making public filings an incomplete measure of ownership.
Bitwise Sees More Institutional Demand Ahead
Bitwise expects adoption to build as investors complete due diligence and more institutions disclose positions. Each credible public allocation lowers the reputational cost of investing for the next institution, the asset manager argues. It forecasts that a majority of institutional investors will hold crypto within five years. That is Bitwise’s projection, not a measured outcome from the 15 interviews.
A broader Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey of 351 institutional investors found that nearly three-quarters planned to increase crypto allocations in 2026. Conducted in January, it measured intentions among a different group. Nearly half also reported greater attention to risk management, liquidity, and position sizing amid volatility.
The next allocations could serve different purposes across portfolios. In the Bitwise interviews, institutions often paired bitcoin with gold while placing crypto investments in technology and innovation categories. Bitwise identified regulatory progress and growing peer adoption as factors that could encourage more institutions to follow.
