- The 15 institutions Bitwise surveyed said they didn’t reduce their crypto allocation despite price drawdowns between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026.
- All held Bitcoin and typically paired it with gold, with the most common allocation ranging from 1% to 2%.
Bitwise, the world’s largest crypto index fund manager, recently released a report indicating an unwavering commitment among institutional investors toward digital assets. The company’s three-month study, which involved top officials from the world’s largest financial institutions, showed their strategy amid the massive drawdowns in cryptocurrency prices between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026.
A Long-Term HODL Play in Crypto
According to Bitwise, it interviewed “senior investment professionals responsible for crypto decisions” at 15 of the world’s largest institutions. These included public companies, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, public pension funds, investment consultants, and multi-family offices.
The respondents revealed that none of them reduced their crypto allocation between Q4 2025 and Q2 2026. It came despite a roughly 50% drawdown in Bitcoin (BTC) and correlated altcoins during the period, driven by aggressive US trade policies, geopolitical tensions, rapidly rising inflation, and dramatic accrual of US debt. In fact, some of them even increased their crypto exposure.
Key Preference in Bitcoin
Interestingly, Bitwise found that all the institutions it covered held Bitcoin. Almost all of them either solely maintained BTC or had their largest exposure in the asset.
Additionally, nearly all disclosed that Bitcoin is their longest-held position. Then, most paired BTC with gold, suggesting they treat the premier crypto asset as a digital hedge against macro debasement akin to the precious metal.
Bitwise highlighted that their BTC allocations ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets. However, most kept exposure between 1% and 2%.
The asset manager noted that allocation size was inversely correlated with the number of people who must approve it. Family offices emerged as the entities with the highest allocations, while sovereign wealth funds had the lowest.
Interestingly, respondents couldn’t name a specific price range at which they would be willing to sell their crypto holdings. Nonetheless, they cited thesis failure, regulatory reversal, or an industry-wide credibility crisis as reasons they might abandon their bet on digital assets.
What’s more, several institutions held Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), but only in limited positions and for shorter durations. They are also tied to value accrual rather than serving as a hedge like Bitcoin and gold.
Bitwise said the survey results bust the myth that institutions tend to sell during major crypto drawdowns. The report indicates the opposite.
