The interests of institutions toward crypto assets are no longer the domain of a select number of specialist crypto funds alone. Banks, asset managers, financial advisors, and other professional investors are increasingly gaining exposure through regulated crypto products and investment vehicles.
According to a survey carried out by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon in 2026 among 351 institutional decision makers, almost three-quarters intended to increase their crypto investments during 2026. The same survey indicated that 74% expected crypto asset prices to go up over the next 12 months.
Exposure via regulated crypto products is becoming increasingly important as well. As per the survey, 66% of the respondents had exposure to spot crypto exchange-traded products, while 81% favored spot exposure through a registered investment vehicle.
Thus, the adoption of crypto assets by institutional investors is not just an exercise in purchasing cryptocurrencies. However, there are several developments on the part of the industry that make crypto assets more attractive for institutional investors.
This same 2026 survey found that institutions have become more careful in their approaches. Nearly half of respondents reported that they had tightened their attention to risk management, liquidity, and position-sizing due to market volatility.
Regulation is yet another factor at play. Among institutions planning to raise their stakes, 65% cited regulatory clarity as one of the important driving factors. At the same time, 66% of respondents cited regulatory uncertainty as an important risk factor for digital asset investments.
It creates an interesting case institutional interests are increasing, yet the environment in which these interests occur plays a large role.
Institutions seem to show a rising interest in things other than cryptocurrencies themselves. According to the 2026 survey, there was an interest in stable coins and tokenized assets, implying an increasing interest in the very financial infrastructure built upon blockchain technology.
Thus, the point is not just whether institutions will continue to purchase cryptocurrency.
The real issue is whether regulations, infrastructure, risk management systems, and markets will mature fast enough to allow it.
However, there are some arguments in favor of the continuation of the trend, but it would be misleading to consider the process as inevitable.
More than three-quarters of the respondents who participated in the 2025 Coinbase-EY survey expected to increase their digital asset investments in 2025, while 59% intended to invest more than 5% of their assets under management in digital assets or related products.
Therefore, the findings of the 2026 survey suggest that the trend is continuing rather than appearing out of nowhere.
However, surveys reflect people's intentions and expectations rather than the processes that actually happen later. The market situation, regulation, liquidity, security, and performance of investments can change everything.
For me, the key aspect here is not about the volume of investments into crypto-assets but about the process of moving digital assets into traditional investment instruments.
If the process of increasing exposure continues, regulated access and infrastructural issues can become equally important as cryptocurrencies.
**Institutional adoption is expandingbut the next step is likely to be driven by discipline and regulation.**
