60% wealth managers plan crypto allocations

TLDR

A recent Bitwise survey reports that about 60% of polled wealth managers plan to add crypto exposure within the next year, signalling growing institutional interest.

1. The 60% figure comes from a poll of 400 wealth managers at a Bitwise event and reflects intentions, not current allocations or the whole industry.
2. Separate adviser and institutional surveys show crypto use already rising, mostly via regulated products such as spot ETFs and ETPs rather than direct coin holding.
3. If these plans translate into action, flows are likely to cluster in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) via regulated vehicles, with outcomes shaped by regulation and product access.

Deep Dive

1. What The 60% Figure Really Says

Bitwises Head of Research shared survey results from a presentation to roughly 400 wealth managers showing that 60% plan to allocate to crypto within the next year, and 60% expect higher prices by year?end, while 67% currently have no crypto exposure yet. The survey, reported in a feature on adviser allocations, covers an event audience, so it measures interest among those already engaged enough to attend a crypto-focused session, not the entire global wealth-management industry.

These numbers are forward?looking intentions: they indicate appetite and expectations, but they do not guarantee that allocations will actually be made, or at what size.

Confidence: moderate because the data is event-sample survey work, but it is consistent with other adviser and institutional studies.

2. How Adviser And Institutional Adoption Is Evolving

The same coverage cites broader adviser research finding that crypto allocations in client accounts rose to 32% in 2025, up from 22% in 2024, and that the share of advisers able to buy crypto for clients increased from 35% to 42% in one year. Institutional investor research published in March 2026 showed 73% of respondents planning to increase crypto allocations and 74% expecting prices to rise over the following 12 months, with results summarized in the Bitwise-linked survey discussion.

Crucially, 66% of institutional respondents already held spot crypto ETFs or exchange?traded products, and 81% said they prefer registered vehicles. About 65% cited improved regulatory clarity as the main driver for increasing holdings. That points to a trend where adoption is rising, but channeled through regulated wrappers rather than raw on?chain exposure.

3. Market Impact And What To Watch

Todays crypto market is large and increasingly institutionally connected: total crypto market cap sits around 2.65 trillion dollars, with Bitcoin dominance close to 59% over the past year. If even part of the planned wealth?manager allocations materialize, the most immediate impact is likely further growth in spot ETFs and ETPs tied to BTC and ETH, where operational, custody, and risk frameworks already meet institutional requirements.

Key things to watch include: new crypto?linked ETF launches, changes in adviser platform rules, and regulatory milestones that expand what wealth managers are allowed to offer. Flows may concentrate in large?cap assets and regulated products first, with more complex DeFi or smaller tokens seeing slower, more selective institutional uptake.

Conclusion

The headline figure that 60% of polled wealth managers plan crypto allocations fits into a broader pattern of rising but still uneven institutional adoption. Actual impact on the market will depend on how quickly product access, regulation, and internal risk frameworks catch up, with Bitcoin and Ethereum poised to benefit most if intentions turn into funded positions via regulated vehicles.