HSBC report: The proportion of high-net-worth asset allocations to crypto has fallen back to 6%, and nearly half still plan to increase their holdings

HSBC Bank’s 2026 high-net-worth investment report survey covers nearly ten thousand investors: crypto asset allocation drops to 6%, but 45% plan to increase holdings
(Background: HSBC launched Hong Kong’s first gold token, “HSBC Gold Token” — $30 billion in daily trading volume flows into the blockchain)
(Additional context: HSBC tokenized deposits debut on the public chain Canton Network, with financial giants JPMorgan, DTCC, and Franklin following suit)

Table of contents

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• Allocation down 1%, but “adding intent” remains strong
• Money flows out of cash toward three main directions
• Southeast Asia’s crypto allocation shows resilience
• From 12% to 6%: a two-year “normalization” process
• The key shift from “speculative allocation” to “structural allocation”

HSBC Bank’s latest survey reveals that high-net-worth investors’ allocation to crypto assets is undergoing a subtle transition of “lower allocation but not reducing positions.” According to the《Affluent Investor Snapshot 2026》report released on July 28, nearly 10k high-net-worth investors worldwide currently have an average crypto allocation of 6% in their investment portfolios, down 1 percentage point from 2025, but nearly half of respondents still plan to add to their crypto holdings within the next 12 months.

Allocation down 1%, but “adding intent” remains strong

The highlight of this report is not the absolute number “6%,” but investors’ direction toward crypto assets. 45% of respondents plan to increase their crypto allocation over the coming year, while 40% intend to keep it unchanged—together totaling 85%. Only 15% plan to reduce the share of crypto assets.

In other words, the main reason for the lower allocation is not that investors are trimming positions and exiting, but that the allocation proportions of other asset classes (stocks, gold, alternative investments) are rising at the same time, diluting crypto’s relative share.

Money flows out of cash toward three main directions

The report shows that cash allocation among global high-net-worth investors has fallen to 19%. Funds continue to flow out of that “lying idle” position, moving toward three main directions:

• Stocks: U.S. stocks are expected to remain stable in 2026, and the AI and technology sectors are attracting substantial allocation
• Gold: HSBC itself launched the HSBC Gold Token in March, reflecting that tokenization of gold is a tangible vehicle for the flow of funds
• Alternative investments: Includes non-traditional targets such as private equity, real estate funds, and crypto assets

Southeast Asia’s crypto allocation shows resilience

The report specifically highlights crypto asset allocation ratios in Singapore (5%) and Malaysia (6%), both unchanged from the previous year. This data is noteworthy: as one of the regions with the highest global crypto adoption rates, Southeast Asia has not seen local high-net-worth investors’ crypto allocation shrink amid market volatility—if anything, it shows stability.

By contrast, Taiwan’s high-net-worth investors in the same region have not yet been included in this survey sample. But if local investors track the Southeast Asia trend, their crypto allocation ratio is likely to remain at a similar level.

From 12% to 6%: a two-year “normalization” process

If you extend the timeline, the 6% allocation ratio actually reflects crypto assets moving from the “pandemic surge period” back to “normal allocation.” HSBC’s 2024 survey previously showed that global high-net-worth investors’ crypto allocation was as high as 12%. Over two years it was cut in half to 6%. But this is not necessarily a negative signal—it more resembles the result of investors taking profits and rebalancing portfolios after prices doubled.

It’s also worth noting that HSBC Bank’s report methodology asks investors for the percentage of crypto assets within their investment portfolio, not whether they hold crypto assets. Therefore, behind the 6% average allocation, actual holdings may be higher, since many respondents’ crypto allocation is still 0%.

The key shift from “speculative allocation” to “structural allocation”

Data from nearly ten thousand investors worldwide may not represent everyone, but it is enough to reflect a trend: crypto assets within high-net-worth investors’ asset portfolios are transitioning from “speculative allocation” to “structural allocation.” The proportion is not high, but it persists and continues to grow steadily.

This aligns with HSBC’s crypto infrastructure efforts in recent years: from gold tokenization (2024) to tokenized deposits going live on-chain (April 2026). Traditional banks are embedding crypto technology into everyday investment tools. For high-net-worth investors, crypto is no longer just “buy Bitcoin and leave it there,” but rather participating in the digital asset ecosystem through tokenized gold, tokenized deposits, and other products, with lower friction costs.