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Helped in large part by the debuts of spot bitcoin exchange traded funds, 2024 marked a tipping point in terms of adoption of cryptocurrency by registered investment advisors. More of the same is expected this year with results of the presidential election viewed as a catalyst for a broader embrace of crypto by the advisory/wealth management community.
The spot bitcoin exchange traded funds that launched in the U.S. in January certainly helped the advisor adoption. Just look at second quarter 13F filing season, which revealed an increasing number of wealth management firms adding to and establishing positions in spot bitcoin ETFs. Other data points confirm widening advisor adoption of bitcoin.
A June survey of advisors by the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DACFP), which was sponsored by Franklin Templeton – a spot bitcoin ETF issuer – revealed an array of compelling statistics about advisor adoption of bitcoin.
Another, more recent survey confirms 2025 is poised to be a banner year for crypto deployment by advisors, indicating the asset class is poised to continue is mainstream ascent.
Majority of Advisors Backing Crypto
The recently released “Bitwise/VettaFi 2025 Benchmark Survey of Financial Advisor Attitudes Toward Crypto Assets” indicates that 56% “of advisors said they were more likely to invest in crypto in 2025 as a result of the election results.”
Alone, that’s pertinent, but adding to that relevance is the point that in 2024, 22% of advisors said they had allocated a portion of client portfolios to cryptocurrency, or more than double the percentage seen in 2023, according to the study. As for the adivsors that haven’t yet allocated to crypto on behalf of clients, nearly one in five said they’re likely to do so this year, or more than double the percentage seen in the prior year. Add to that, those advisors that are already engaged with crypto are highly likely to remain that way and/or increase those exposures.
“Ninety-nine percent (99%) of advisors who currently have an allocation to crypto in client accounts plan to either maintain or increase that exposure in 2025,” adds Bitwise.
What’s interesting, particularly when considering the advent of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, is that the aforementioned percentages would likely be higher if not for somewhat limited access to those products. Just 35% of the advisors polled by Bitwise said they can buy crypto for client accounts. Assuming that percentage rises, it could usher in a new wave of crypto growth.
Speaking of Crypto ETFs…
With some of the spot bitcoin ETFs ranking among the most successful new ETFS of all-time, it’s not surprising that clients (96%, according to Bitwise) are asking about crypto and that advisors themselves are examining ETFs as avenues for digital currency exposure.
“Among the most important features when choosing a bitcoin ETF, expense ratio ranked highest at 58%. Interestingly, brand of issuer (46%) and issuer support (43%) came in above AUM (28%), suggesting the importance advisors place on subject matter expertise among asset managers in a specialized industry like crypto,” observes the asset manager.
Something else for advisors to note: 71% of clients, according to the study, are investing in crypto outside of their relationships with advisors. Advisors might want to chat with those clients about how those investments are performing and inquire about the desire or need for added guidance.
Related: Forecasting Bitcoin in 2025: Challenging but Not Impossible