CoinShares Survey: Institutional Investors Managing $1.3 Trillion Are Increasing Their BTC Holdings

Author: Sam Bourgi

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Brief: CoinShares’ latest quarterly survey shows that among 26 institutional investors managing a total of $1.3 trillion in assets, 32% already hold BTC and 25% have allocated to ETH. The share of digital asset allocations is still only about 1%, but capital inflows have been positive for four straight weeks, and in early May spot BTC ETF saw nearly $1 billion in net inflows for the week. Improved regulatory friendliness and the opening up of ETF channels are the core drivers, while internal compliance restrictions remain the biggest bottleneck.

Fund managers are once again embracing digital assets. CoinShares’ latest survey shows that Bitcoin continues to dominate institutional allocation preferences, and overall sentiment across the crypto market is also recovering.

This April survey covers 26 institutional investors with a total managed asset size of $1.3 trillion. The allocation ratio of digital assets in portfolios remains low at about 1%. CoinShares describes it as a “typical entry position,” corresponding to the current risk-off market environment.

CoinShares Research Director James Butterfill wrote in the report: “Bitcoin still remains the most convincing digital asset in terms of growth outlook.” Compared with the previous few quarters, sentiment toward ETH and SOL has also improved mildly.

Survey data: 32% of respondents have already invested in BTC, and 25% have allocated to ETH.

Institutional investors are adding positions gradually. The driving factors include improving market sentiment, rising ETF adoption, and a more friendly regulatory environment. At the same time, respondents list internal compliance restrictions and regulatory uncertainty as the top obstacles to broader adoption. The survey also points to a trend: capital is flowing from “legacy altcoins” into newer DeFi protocols and emerging blockchain sectors.

Caption: Fund managers believe Bitcoin’s growth outlook is the strongest among digital assets, followed by ETH and SOL

Source: CoinShares

Continuous capital inflows, with sentiment indicators turning positive across the board

The survey’s optimistic tone aligns with broader institutional capital flow data. CoinShares data shows that digital asset investment products have recorded net capital inflows for multiple weeks, mainly driven by demand for Bitcoin.

Crypto ETPs attracted $1.2 billion in inflows over the four weeks ending April 27, marking the fourth consecutive week of positive flows, for a total of $3.9 billion inflow over the four weeks.

This momentum carried into early May. SoSoValue data shows that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded nearly $1 billion in net inflows this week, and the BTC price has risen back above $80,000.

Caption: Bitcoin ETF capital inflows have continued to rise since last Friday

Source: SoSoValue

The capital inflow trend is also consistent with a joint survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon: 73% of institutional investors plan to increase their digital asset exposure this year, and most expect crypto asset prices to rise over the next 12 months.

The launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024 is widely seen as a turning point for institutional adoption. The ETF structure reduces operational friction for institutions, provides regulated Bitcoin exposure, and eliminates the need for direct custody of digital assets.