Platform access at 42% caps the 60% of wealth managers who say they will allocate to crypto
A Bitwise poll of about 400 wealth managers put stated intent to allocate at 60% within a year. The Bitwise/VettaFi benchmark shows 32% of advisors allocated in 2025, and 42% could buy crypto at all.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Bitwise's head of research polled a room of roughly 400 wealth managers in September 2026, and 67% said they hold no crypto exposure at all in client portfolios.
- Some 60% of the same respondents said they plan to add a crypto allocation for clients within the next 12 months.
- The 2026 Bitwise/VettaFi Benchmark Survey found 32% of financial advisors had allocated to crypto for clients during 2025, up from 22% the year before.
- That same benchmark put the share of advisors able to buy crypto for clients at 42% in 2025, against 35% in 2024.
- Crypto Briefing describes the exercise as an informal audience poll at a Bitwise event, not a randomized sample of the wealth management industry.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint An advisor cannot allocate on a platform that will not hold the asset, and the 18-point gap between 60% intent and 42% access means the selling is done to compliance committees, not to advisors.
- Who has to decide decision Anyone modelling the AUM ramp of a distribution-dependent crypto product has to choose a base rate, and only the 32% has been measured after the fact.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Bitwise flags self-selection in its own audience, yet that audience's non-allocation rate lands within a point of the industry benchmark, so the caveat bites on the intent figure and not on the holdings figure.
- What's now possible capability Because existing crypto-holding portfolios are increasingly sized above 2%, inflows can grow without a single additional advisor signing on.
Next story · Invest · 9h ago
Deutsche Bank puts Bitcoin and Ether custody first and stablecoin conversion laterConfirmed3 publishers
Divide the 32% of advisors who allocated in 2025 by the 42% who could buy crypto for clients at all, and about three-quarters of advisors with access used it [13]. The 2024 pair was 22 over 35, or 63% [13]. Access widened by 7 points in that year [14], while the rate at which access turned into an allocation rose 13 [13].
Hold that conversion rate at 76% and the 60% allocation the room described needs access of about 79%, against 42% in 2025 [16]. At last year's pace of 7 points, the 37-point gap takes roughly five years to close [20]. The room said twelve months [2]. Crowdfund Insider's account attributes the majority still sitting out to operational, compliance and firm-level restrictions [10].
The same problem stated as headcount: if every one of the 60% who intend to allocate comes from the 67% who have not, that room ends the year 93% allocated, with 7% holding out [19].
Bitwise's own write-up flags self-selection, noting the poll was informal and taken at a company event [7], and Rasmussen shared the results after he and chief investment officer Matt Hougan spoke to the room [3]. The caveat lands on intent more than on holdings. Subtract the benchmark's 32% from 100 and 68% of advisors had not allocated in 2025, a point above the 67% in the room [15].
The case for a faster ramp does not need the 60% at all. Among portfolios that already hold digital assets, a larger share now carry allocations above 2% [12]. Sizing up inside existing accounts moves dollars while the advisor count grinds along at ten points a year [4].
I would underwrite a distribution-dependent crypto product on 32%, with 42% as the near-term ceiling. Another 45% year would put allocation at about 46% in 2026 [18], and a 2027 benchmark above that would show the intent number was worth more than I am giving it. Access clearing 60% would settle it sooner [6]. In the room itself, XRP drew more questions than anything else [11]. The session also covered Hyperliquid, stablecoins and tokenization alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana [9]. Sixty per cent of respondents expected prices higher by the end of 2026 [8].
What to watch
- The 2027 Bitwise/VettaFi benchmark: whether allocation clears about 46% and whether advisor access clears 50%.
- Whether the share of crypto-holding portfolios sized above 2% keeps rising, since sizing lifts flows with no new advisors.
- Whether the XRP interest in the room turns into advisor-distributed product, or stays a question in a conference session.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence45
- Adoption32
- Hype gap+35
- Incentives70
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
A Bitwise Asset Management audience poll conducted in September 2026, of roughly 400 wealth managers, found 67% had not allocated any cryptocurrency exposure for their clients.
- [2]
60% of the same poll respondents said they plan to add a crypto allocation within the next 12 months.
- [3]
Bitwise Head of Research Ryan Rasmussen and Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan spoke to a room of about 400 wealth managers, and Rasmussen later shared the informal poll results from that session.
- [4]
According to the 2026 Bitwise/VettaFi Benchmark Survey, 32% of financial advisors had allocated to crypto for clients in 2025, up from 22% in 2024.
- [5]
The move from 22% to 32% represents a roughly 45% year-over-year jump in adoption.
- [6]
42% of advisors said they could buy crypto for clients in 2025, compared with 35% the year before.
- [7]
Crypto Briefing notes the exercise was an informal audience poll at a Bitwise event, not a randomized, statistically rigorous survey of the entire wealth management industry, and that self-selection bias is doing some work.
- [8]
60% of poll respondents said they expected crypto prices to be higher by the end of 2026.
- [9]
The session ranged across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Hyperliquid, stablecoins, tokenization, and the evolving regulatory backdrop.
- [10]
Operational, compliance, and firm-level restrictions still keep the majority of wealth managers on the sidelines for now, according to Crowdfund Insider.
- [11]
XRP drew the most inquiries from attendees at the Bitwise session.
- [12]
Among portfolios that already hold digital assets, a larger share now carry allocations above 2 percent.
- [13]
Of advisors able to buy crypto for clients, 76% had allocated in 2025 (32 of 42), against 63% in 2024 (22 of 35), a rise of about 13 points.
- [14]
Advisor access to crypto widened by 7 points between 2024 and 2025.
- [15]
The benchmark's 32% allocation rate implies 68% of advisors had not allocated in 2025, one point above the 67% non-allocation reported in the Bitwise room.
- [16]
Holding the 76% conversion rate constant, a 60% allocation rate requires about 79% of advisors to have access, against 42% in 2025.
- [17]
Stated intent of 60% exceeds the 42% of advisors with the ability to buy crypto for clients by 18 points.
- [18]
Repeating the roughly 45% year-over-year adoption growth would take allocation from 32% to about 46% in 2026.
- [19]
If all 60% who intend to allocate come from the 67% who have not, the room would end the year 93% allocated, with 7% unallocated.
- [20]
Closing the 37-point gap between 42% access and the 79% access implied by 60% allocation takes about five years at 7 points a year.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- crowdfundinsider.comBitwise Research Reveals 67% of Wealth Managers Have Yet to Allocate Crypto to Investor Portfolios
1 article · September 13, 2026
- cryptobriefing.comBitwise research finds 67% of wealth managers lack crypto allocation
1 article · September 13, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Crypto in wealth management
- Subword Tokenization
Entities
- XRP
- Bitwise/VettaFi Benchmark Survey
- Bitwise Asset Management
- Matt Hougan