As crypto enthusiasts fret over industry adoption of digital assets, results of a new survey indicate there’s little to worry about, with institutional investors showing no signs of throwing in the towel.
Fidelity Investments, the Boston-based asset management firm, said on Thursday that nearly half (47%) of institutional investors believe digital assets have a place in their portfolio, while 22% already own digital assets.
The findings come as the investment behemoth proceeds with its foray into digital assets through its recently launched cryptocurrency trading and custodial business, Fidelity Digital Asset Services LLC.
“We’ve seen a maturation of interest in digital assets from early adopters, like crypto hedge funds, to traditional investors like family offices and endowments,” said Tom Jessop, president of Fidelity Digital Assets in a press release.
Read: Fidelity launches cryptocurrency trading platform
The upbeat outlook arrives as bitcoin BTCUSD, +1.45% and other digital currencies are on the comeback. After plunging as much as 90% in 2018, most major coins have logged double-digital percentage gains since the beginning of the year. But as hard as 2018 was for crypto owners, it was steady as you go for Fidelity investors, according to Jessop. “We never saw a decline in interest or sentiment during the crypto winter,” he said, in a phone interview.
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While Fidelity did not disclose the number of clients it is working with (the company’s most recent update said it is “serving a select set of eligible clients”), it said the broad spectrum of clients paints a favorable outlook for the nascent industry.
“Many of them are approaching it from a different perspective, whether it’s asset allocation, or others looking at the fundamentals like network activity, a more quantitative approach. It’s healthy people bring different analytical lenses to the same subject,” Jessop said.
“I like the idea they are scanning the space to look at what’s going on,” he said, emphasizing that companies are exploring the sphere with the understanding the technology is here to stay.
Read: Nearly half of all tech executives say the blockchain revolution is coming, survey finds
In other findings, volatility remains a top concern for investors — a hurdle Jessop said will dissipate over time. “The good news with us being in the space and more participating, the better the price discovery will be. Add in futures trading and spreads will tighten.”
As of March 31, Fidelity had $2.6 trillion in assets under management.
The survey was conducted by Greenwich Associates between November 26, 2018 and February 8, 2019 and included 441 institutional investors in the U.S.
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