Research by Fidelity Digital Assets found that 90% of respondents interested in acquiring digital assets plan to do so within the next five years.
According to today’s Reuters reports, the latest study revealed that 70% of institutional investors expect to invest in or acquire digital assets at some point in the future.
The survey was conducted between December 2020 and April 2021 by Fidelity Digital Assets in collaboration with Coalition Greenwich and the Fidelity Center for Applied Technology.
Fidelity surveyed 1,100 global institutional investors, including hedge funds, high-net-worth investors, financial advisors, family offices, and institutional funds.
About one-third of U.S. respondents already hold investments in digital assets, up from 27% in 2020. Across the United States, Europe, and Asia combined, slightly more than half of surveyed investors report some level of investment in digital assets.
The study also found that 80% of institutional investors believe there is room for digital assets in their investment portfolios. The highest proportion of agreement came from Asia, while 77% of European respondents and 69% of Americans shared this view.
This represents a clear shift from the prior study conducted by Fidelity Digital Assets between November 2019 and March 2020, in which only 60% of institutional investors said digital assets had a place in their portfolios.
Christine Sandler, head of sales and marketing at Fidelity, said today in Institutional Investor: “There is generally a positive sentiment toward digital assets. We expect them to become even more mainstream by 2026.”
The survey supports Sandler’s outlook: roughly 90% of those expressing future interest in digital assets expect to take action within the next five years, either directly or through exposure via investment products or cryptocurrency-related equities.
Nevertheless, several factors continue to slow institutional adoption. Respondents identified price volatility as the primary barrier, with additional concerns including market manipulation, lack of transparency, limited tools, and insufficient fundamentals to value cryptocurrencies.
Despite these reservations, institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is growing significantly. Respondents expressed hopes for improvements such as stronger security and custody solutions, expanded market and data analytics services, and greater access to electronic trading platforms to support more informed and efficient participation in the digital-asset market.