Wealthy crypto holders buy for appreciation even as most call bitcoin a debasement hedge
CoinShares' survey of 2,230 investors with $500,000 or more found just 9% to 19% of crypto holders invest mainly as a hedge. Advisers should prepare for requests argued on returns and sized against an average allocation that HSBC and Ric Edelman both put lower.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- Between 65% and 86% of respondents said bitcoin hedges against fiat debasement and will play a significant role in the future global financial system.
- CoinShares puts crypto at about 10% of these portfolios on average, with ownership running from 54% in Sweden to about 70% in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland.
- About four in 10 respondents with an adviser in Switzerland, France, the US and Germany said that adviser was overly cautious about digital assets.
Why it matters
- Who has to decide decision Clients who bought for appreciation will judge a crypto sleeve as a growth position, so an adviser's case for holding it through a drawdown has to rest on return expectations, with the insurance argument persuading few holders.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Peer benchmarks are unsettled: an adviser citing CoinShares, HSBC or Edelman lands on materially different 'normal' allocations for affluent clients, and a client quoting the survey may be anchoring high.
- Who's exposed exposure Where firms bar crypto conversations, advisers may not know which clients hold it, and tax, estate-planning and philanthropic services on those holdings may go unoffered, Edelman said.
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Belief and motive come apart inside the same sample. A respondent can hold that bitcoin protects against a debased currency and still give appreciation or diversification as the reason for owning digital assets. On CoinShares' numbers, most holders did exactly that [3][5]. Speculation ranked last and 6% called themselves short-term traders [6], so the return case these investors make is a long-horizon one. In the US, UK, France and Germany, 33% to 40% ranked crypto above equities and real estate on expected long-term performance [9].
The gap has other explanations. The motive question covered digital assets in general and did not single out bitcoin [4], and one in five crypto holders owns no bitcoin at all [7], so some of the growth answers may describe ether or other tokens. Diversification, the second leading answer, is itself a protective motive. And the sponsor, CoinShares, is an asset manager focused on digital assets [2], polling a sample in which most people already own them [25].
I'd still expect the requests advisers field to be about returns, or rather about size, because a return thesis arrives as a percentage of the portfolio. At a 10% average, an investor at the survey's $500,000 floor holds $50,000 in crypto [24]. HSBC's 2026 snapshot of almost 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors in 10 markets found a mean of 6%, down a point on 2025 [10]. CoinShares' average is 4 percentage points higher [22]. HSBC polled from Jan. 6 to Feb. 6, a stretch in which bitcoin peaked just above $97,000 before falling below $70,000, according to Bitcoin.com News [11]. Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals and Edelman Financial Engines [20], told Cointelegraph that his research finds allocations of 2% to 5% far more common [26]. Against that range the CoinShares figure is two to five times larger [21].
Edelman doubts the survey's figure and then recommends more than it: 10% for conservative portfolios, 25% for moderate ones and 40% for aggressive ones [15]. His moderate tier is five to 12.5 times the range he calls common [23]. "As the asset class matures, 10% allocations or higher will become the norm," Edelman said. "The sooner people do that, the better off they will be." [16]
On why advisers lag, he said many lack the knowledge or the incentive to learn the asset class, and "most are getting little to no encouragement from their firms." [17]
The CoinShares survey ran from May 11 to June 5, after the February sell-off, and in all seven countries more respondents said that sell-off made them more likely to invest than less [1][13]. HSBC asked a broader population: 45% of its participants planned to add crypto in 2026 and 40% planned to hold steady [12], against CoinShares' figures for current holders only [8]. The growth reading fails if a deeper drawdown pushes hedging up the list of primary motives, or if holders who say they will add end the year closer to HSBC's average than to CoinShares'.
What to watch
- Whether HSBC's next Affluent Investor Snapshot shows mean crypto allocations falling again or closing the gap with CoinShares' figure.
- Whether the 13-point rise in US conviction over the 2025 CoinShares survey holds in its next edition after this year's drawdown.
- Whether wealth firms that now prohibit advisers from discussing crypto change those policies as client requests arrive.
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
- Adoption55
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives70
- Confidence50
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
CoinShares and Vardaxoglou Advisory surveyed 2,230 respondents in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland with at least $500,000 in investable assets between May 11 and June 5, 2026.
- [2]
CoinShares is a major European digital asset-focused asset manager.
- [3]
Only 9%-19% of crypto asset holders named hedging as their primary reason for investing in digital assets; primary reasons were long-term capital appreciation and portfolio diversification.
- [4]
The question on reasons for investing did not single out bitcoin specifically.
- [5]
Between 65% and 86% of respondents see bitcoin as playing a significant role in the future global financial system and as a hedge against fiat currency debasement.
- [6]
Speculation ranked last among reasons for investing in crypto, and just 6% of respondents identified primarily as short-term traders.
- [7]
One in five crypto asset holders owns no bitcoin.
- [8]
At least 85% of current digital asset investors in five of the seven countries said they planned to increase their exposure in 2026, with as much as 91% in the US, UK and Germany.
- [9]
In the U.S., U.K., France and Germany, 33%-40% of respondents ranked crypto above equities and real estate for long-term performance expectations.
- [10]
The HSBC Affluent Investor Snapshot 2026, a survey of almost 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth investors in 10 markets conducted Jan. 6 to Feb. 6, 2026, found a mean crypto allocation of 6%, down 1 percentage point from 2025.
- [11]
During the HSBC survey period bitcoin peaked just above $97,000 before falling below $70,000.
- [12]
45% of HSBC survey participants said they planned to increase investments in crypto assets in 2026, and 40% planned to keep allocations stable.
- [13]
In all seven countries, more respondents said the February 2026 crypto sell-off made them more likely to invest in digital assets than less likely.
- [14]
Roughly four in 10 respondents in Switzerland, France, the US and Germany who worked with an adviser said they found them overly cautious about digital assets.
- [15]
Edelman recommends crypto allocations of 10% for conservative portfolios, 25% for moderate portfolios and 40% for aggressive portfolios.
- [16]
"As the asset class matures, 10% allocations or higher will become the norm," Edelman said. "The sooner people do that, the better off they will be."
- [17]
Edelman said financial advisers remain slow adopters, with many lacking the knowledge or incentive to learn about the asset class, and that "most are getting little to no encouragement from their firms."
- [18]
Edelman said some firms prohibit advisers from discussing crypto or offering crypto-related investments, so advisers may not know which clients own crypto and could be missing opportunities to provide tax, estate-planning and philanthropic services around those holdings.
- [19]
Conviction in digital assets among U.S. respondents increased by 13 percentage points compared with the 2025 survey.
- [20]
Ric Edelman is founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals and Edelman Financial Engines.
- [21]
CoinShares' roughly 10% average is two to five times the 2% to 5% range Edelman says is more common.
- [22]
CoinShares' average allocation is 4 percentage points above HSBC's 6% mean.
- [23]
Edelman's 25% moderate recommendation is five to 12.5 times the 2% to 5% range he says is common.
- [24]
A 10% crypto allocation for an investor at the survey's $500,000 minimum is $50,000.
- [25]
A majority of affluent investors in the seven countries hold digital assets, with crypto accounting for around 10% of their portfolios on average; ownership ranged from 54% in Sweden to about 70% in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland.
- [26]
Ric Edelman challenged the roughly 10% average allocation finding, saying his own research suggests allocations of 2% to 5% are far more common.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- cointelegraph.comAffluent investors seen boosting crypto exposure: Survey
1 article · October 6, 2026
- news.bitcoin.comBitcoin Beats Equities, Real Estate Among Wealthy Investors: Survey
1 article · October 7, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Crypto portfolio allocation
- Financial advisers and digital assets
- Bitcoin as a debasement hedge
Entities
- Vardaxoglou Advisory
- Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals
- Edelman Financial Engines
- Bitcoin
- CoinShares
- HSBC