More than 9 out of 10 institutional investors and wealth managers plan to increase holdings in crypto and digital assets in the year ahead, according to new global research by London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management, a digital assets hedge fund manager.
The study found 91% of firms will increase investments in the sector over the next 12 months with more than one in eight (13%) planning to dramatically increase their holdings underlining growing confidence.
The research with professional investors in the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates found the planned expansion builds on strong growth in the previous year.
Nickel’s research with executives at pension funds, insurance asset managers, family offices, hedge funds and wealth managers, that collectively manage over $14 trillion in assets found shows that nearly 6 out of 10 (59%) increased their level of investment in crypto and digital assets in the previous 12 months including 12% who dramatically boosted investment levels.
More than a quarter (26%) questioned said they cut investment in the sector in the previous 12 months while 7% sold all their holdings. A further 5% say their investment level was unchanged in the period.
Anatoly Crachilov, CEO and Founding Partner at Nickel Digital, said: “Digital assets are getting increasingly embedded within institutional portfolios. The toolkit has expanded significantly, allowing allocations to be calibrated with far greater precision in line with risk appetite and portfolio objectives. Investors can access the asset class across a wide spectrum of implementations, ranging from low-vol, delta-neutral and arbitrage strategies designed to generate uncorrelated returns, through to directional strategies and full beta exposure via ETFs.”
Nickel commissioned the market research company PureProfile to interview 260 institutional investors (pension funds, family offices, insurance asset managers and hedge funds) and wealth managers across the US, UK, Germany, Singapore, Switzerland, Brazil and the UAE in January 2026. The sample included 108 which do not currently invest in crypto and digital assets but intend to do so in the next 24 months
