Wealth managers prepare more crypto allocations

Wealth managers have long left digital assets on the fringes of their portfolios. The movement could be reversed. After a Bitwise presentation to around 400 professionals, 60% of participants said they planned to make an allocation in the next twelve months. However, 67% still have none. Between curiosity, internal constraints and more familiar investment vehicles, crypto is gaining ground without having yet won the game. XRP is already attracting questions.

67% stay away, but 60% prepare to enter

Ryan Rasmussen, director of research at Bitwise, published three findings that sum up the mood pretty well. Among the managers surveyed, 67% do not yet allocate anything to crypto. In the same group, 60% think prices will end the year higher and as many plan to invest within twelve months.

This survey However, it deserves its rightful place: it concerns participants in a Bitwise presentation, not a representative sample of the entire profession. The intention does not constitute a purchase order either.

However, one detail gives an idea of ​​the topics circulating in the rooms. XRP sparked more questions than the other assets presented, according to Rasmussen. Its American spot ETFs had a chain of eleven sessions of net inflows until September 1, or around 170 million dollars. Since November 2025, their cumulative inflows reached 1.68 billion.

Goldman Sachs, Jane Street and Millennium Management also appear among the declared holders. These positions do not say why they hold these products, nor if they are actually betting on XRP to rise. For now, curiosity is better measured than conviction.

Crypto ETPs open the door, old brakes remain ahead

Buying a digital asset directly involves questions of custody, infrastructure and internal procedure. ETPs change precisely this mechanics. For an investment committee accustomed to listed products, the terrain seems much less exotic.

L’Nickel Digital studyconducted in July among 203 institutional investors and wealth managers, shows this well. 55% say they are very likely to use crypto ETPs for the first time in the next two years. And 84% believe that their development will bring digital assets into traditional allocation models within three years.

Crypto ETPs are becoming an important bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. By providing familiar, transparent and operationally simple access, they help investment committees bring digital assets into traditional portfolio discussions.

Anatoly Crachilov, director of Nickel Digital.

The door therefore opens, without removing the locks. Regulatory uncertainty still holds back 52% of respondents. Market or custody risks worry 44%, while 40% cite liquidity and transaction costs.

Why do professional investors prefer listed products?

Another survey, conducted by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon among 351 institutional investors, provides a clue: 66% already held spot ETFs or crypto ETPs, and 81% preferred to access digital assets via a registered vehicle.

The choice has less to do with a sudden passion for acronyms than with their compatibility with existing finance. At Nickel, 28% of respondents cite the ease of obtaining approval from a committee or board as the primary reason for using these products. Liquidity and transparency come next at 21%, ahead of operational and custody simplicity at 20%.

Expectations are also changing. 87% of Nickel respondents believe the growth of ETPs will drive demand for active managers and hedge funds. Crypto multi-asset baskets lead the fastest growing products, at 45%, just ahead of actively managed ETFs, at 43%. Products linked to staking collect 39%.

The market is thus moving closer to traditional management habits: funds, fees, committees, selection of managers. Technology changes; allocation meetings, much less.

135,694 crypto millionaires: a clientele that managers look at differently

The profession doesn’t just look at products. She also follows clients who have already accumulated considerable wealth. Henley & Partners lists 135,694 crypto millionaires in its 2026 report. Of these, 92,272 hold at least $1 million in bitcoin. The report also counts 290 people with $100 million or more in digital assets and 23 billionaires.

In total, 742 million people hold digital assets. This wealth has a particularity: it travels more easily than its owner.

Crypto may be borderless, but the families who own it are not. They continue to live, pay taxes, educate their children and operate within national legal and regulatory systems.

Dominic Volek of Henley & Partners.

This reality also fuels competition between jurisdictions. Singapore tops Henley Adoption Index for the fourth year. The United Arab Emirates takes second place, ahead of Hong Kong and the United States. For managers, allocation now affects the product, but also taxation, residence and mobility of assets.

Key figures

• 67% of managers surveyed by Bitwise have no allocation yet.
• 60% plan to receive an allowance in the next twelve months.
• $1.68 billion in cumulative inflows to XRP ETFs since November 2025.
• 84% of Nickel respondents anticipate standardization via ETPs within three years.
• 135,694 millionaires hold at least $1 million in digital assets.

Traditional finance is therefore closer to crypto, with its regulated vehicles and familiar procedures. This proximity, however, does not reassure everyone. ESMA is now monitoring the bridges between the two markets and possible contagion effects. As borders fade, the investment opportunity grows; the risk of seeing a shock circulate from one universe to another too.