Asset manager Bitwise interviewed 15 institutions about their crypto holdings during a roughly 50% market drawdown spanning October 2025 through April 2026 and found that none reduced their allocations. Several institutions bought more during the decline, according to the firm’s Institutional Crypto Adoption Report.
The survey included investment professionals at endowments, foundations, public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, multi-family offices, investment consultants, and public companies. Every institution that owned crypto held Bitcoin, typically as its largest and longest-held position. Crypto allocations among those with exposure ranged from 0.5% to 13%, with most institutions holding between 1% and 2%.
Holdings and Investment Thesis
Ether and Solana represented smaller positions with shorter investment horizons and conditions for selling. Institutions cited regulatory reversal, industry-wide credibility crisis, or failure of investment thesis as reasons to sell, not falling prices. Most Bitcoin holders treated BTC as a store of value, often alongside gold.
One institution held neither Ether nor Solana despite extensive DeFi use, seeing no clear way activity would benefit underlying tokens. Nearly every institution interviewed either used spot crypto exchange-traded funds or planned to, with some shifting from private placements or direct custody toward ETFs.
ETF Flows and Market Data
CoinShares published 13F data in June 2026 showing professional investors’ reported US spot Bitcoin ETF exposure fell 17% in the first quarter of 2026. Hedge funds and brokerages accounted for 96% of that reduction. This data appears to diverge from Bitwise’s interview findings, which showed institutions maintaining or increasing allocations during the same period.
The interviews were conducted in late March and April 2026, as the market drawdown from October 2025 continued through the spring. Bitwise’s research suggests institutional investors treated the decline as a buying opportunity or a non-event for their long-term crypto positions rather than a reason to exit.
