The Bitwise/VettaFi 2023 Benchmark Survey of Financial Advisor Attitudes Toward Crypto Assets (Bitwise)

Summary

• Fifteen percent of advisors reported allocating to crypto in client accounts in the 2023 survey, compared to 16% in the previous year.p.3
• Among advisors allocating to crypto in client portfolios, 95% hold crypto at a weight of 5% or less.p.3
• Ninety percent of advisors received a question about crypto from clients during the past year.p.3
• Regulatory uncertainty was cited by 65% of advisors as a barrier to greater crypto adoption in portfolios.p.3
• Seventy-eight percent of advisors who currently allocate to crypto in client accounts plan to either maintain or increase that allocation in 2023.p.3
• Fifty-nine percent of advisors said some or all of their clients were investing in crypto on their own outside of the advisory relationship.p.3

Key insights

1. Ethereum completed a transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism with benefits to energy efficiency and asset issuance.p.3
2. Only 29% of advisors said they are able to buy crypto in client accounts, but 52% of that group currently allocate on behalf of clients.p.3
3. Independent Registered Investment Advisors represented 47% of all survey respondents.p.5
4. Crypto equity ETFs holding multiple crypto stocks were the top choice (25%) for advisors looking to allocate to crypto in 2023.p.9
5. Advisor optimism between the two largest crypto assets was nearly split, with 53% being more bullish on bitcoin and 47% on ethereum.p.10
6. Exchange-traded funds remain the preferred investment vehicle for owning crypto among 68% of advisors.p.12
7. While 37% of advisors expect the price of bitcoin to be higher in one year, 60% believe it will be higher in five years.p.13