Key Takeaways
- • 86% of institutional investors surveyed have digital asset exposure or plan allocations in 2025, and 59% commit over 5% of assets under management to cryptocurrencies, according to the EY-Parthenon and Coinbase 2025 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Survey of 352 firms.
- • 83% of institutional investors intend to increase digital asset allocations in the coming year, per the same survey.
- • 13F filers held 24% of AUM in the US spot Bitcoin ETF complex at the end of Q3 2025, with registered investment advisors holding 57% of total 13F-reported bitcoin assets, more than double the hedge fund share, according to CoinShares.
- • Just over 55% of traditional hedge funds have some form of crypto exposure, up from 47% in 2024, per the AIMA and PwC 7th Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report.
- • 74% of family offices have invested in or are exploring cryptocurrencies, a 21% year-over-year rise, according to BNY Mellon's 2025 Investment Insights.
- • CME Group set an all-time crypto daily volume record of 794,903 contracts on November 21, 2025, with Q4 average daily volume up 106% year over year.
Summary
A compilation of 2025 institutional crypto adoption data published by CoinLaw shows that digital assets moved from survey question to balance-sheet line item over the year. According to the EY-Parthenon and Coinbase survey, 86% of surveyed institutions have digital asset exposure or plan allocations, and 76% are currently invested in spot crypto or spot crypto ETPs. The survey sample, which covered asset managers, asset owners, family offices, private banks, hedge funds and VC firms, was weighted toward firms with more than $1 billion in AUM.
In the US spot Bitcoin ETF complex, 13F filers accounted for 24% of AUM at the end of Q3 2025 per CoinShares. Advisors drove most of the growth, holding 185,000 BTC-equivalent exposure, or 57% of 13F-reported bitcoin assets. Professional filers' bitcoin ETF holdings fell 23% quarter over quarter to $21.2 billion at the end of Q1 2025, the first quarter-over-quarter decline since spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, before recovering in subsequent quarters. Hedge funds were the second-largest 13F cohort, at 32% in Q1 2025, down from 41% in Q4 2024.
Hedge fund participation remains more concentrated in small allocations. The AIMA and PwC report found that most traditional hedge funds keep allocations below 2% of AUM, and no fewer than 71% of those with exposure plan to increase it. Almost half of surveyed investors cited a more favourable US regulatory environment as a reason to add allocations. BNY Mellon data shows family offices hold crypto at roughly 5% of portfolios on average, and family office crypto holdings outside the US rose 75% year over year.
On the sovereign and corporate side, the US federal government holds about 328,372 BTC as of February 2026, according to the White House fact sheet and related documentation, following the March 6, 2025 executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Strategy held 628,791 bitcoins by Q2 2025 after a $21 billion common stock ATM offering added 301,335 BTC. Derivatives activity also expanded, with CME crypto futures and options reaching a record $3 trillion in 2025 notional volume.
In the US spot Bitcoin ETF complex, 13F filers accounted for 24% of AUM at the end of Q3 2025 per CoinShares. Advisors drove most of the growth, holding 185,000 BTC-equivalent exposure, or 57% of 13F-reported bitcoin assets. Professional filers' bitcoin ETF holdings fell 23% quarter over quarter to $21.2 billion at the end of Q1 2025, the first quarter-over-quarter decline since spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, before recovering in subsequent quarters. Hedge funds were the second-largest 13F cohort, at 32% in Q1 2025, down from 41% in Q4 2024.
Hedge fund participation remains more concentrated in small allocations. The AIMA and PwC report found that most traditional hedge funds keep allocations below 2% of AUM, and no fewer than 71% of those with exposure plan to increase it. Almost half of surveyed investors cited a more favourable US regulatory environment as a reason to add allocations. BNY Mellon data shows family offices hold crypto at roughly 5% of portfolios on average, and family office crypto holdings outside the US rose 75% year over year.
On the sovereign and corporate side, the US federal government holds about 328,372 BTC as of February 2026, according to the White House fact sheet and related documentation, following the March 6, 2025 executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Strategy held 628,791 bitcoins by Q2 2025 after a $21 billion common stock ATM offering added 301,335 BTC. Derivatives activity also expanded, with CME crypto futures and options reaching a record $3 trillion in 2025 notional volume.
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