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The incentive for institutional cryptocurrency exposure has shifted towards diversification, according to Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum.
About 57% of institutional and professional investors with cryptocurrency exposure point to portfolio diversification as their main reason for investing in the asset class, Sygnum said in a Nov. 11 report, citing a late Q3 survey of 1,000 investors from 43 countries.
Sygnum said this marked a significant shift from the previous year, when 62% of investors cited “exposure to crypto’s megatrend” as the primary driver of investment. That figure dropped to 53% this year.
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“This could indicate that crypto is now being used more deliberately as a core portfolio component, with its perceived diversification benefits taking precedence over chasing pure upside potential,” Sygnum said.
Sygnum attributed the shift from speculation to diversification to improved digital asset knowledge. According to the report, 78% of investors reported having high cryptocurrency and blockchain knowledge, a 6% increase from 2024.
“Investors are now better informed,” Sygnum Crypto Asset Research Lead Lucas Schweiger said. “Discipline has tempered exuberance, but not conviction, in the market’s long-term growth trajectory.”
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Meanwhile, with the shift in incentives has come a change in investment strategies, Sygnum said. The majority of investors, 42%, now favor actively managed strategies, a shift from 2024, when 44% cited single-token strategies as the preference. It suggests that investors want to be able to adjust to changing market conditions and better spread risk, Sygnum said.
Passive investment strategies follow at 39% as Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds gain ground, the report said. Single-token strategies are a close third at 38%.
According to the Sygnum report, 61% of respondents said they intend to increase their cryptocurrency exposure, citing catalysts like ETF approvals, corporate treasury purchases and anticipated U.S. cryptocurrency market structure legislation. Meanwhile, about 34% said they planned to maintain their positions, pending an improvement in market conditions.
