Financial advisors show strong interest in crypto-currencies – 90% receive inquiries about crypto-currency investments, according to a survey

A new survey shows that interest in crypto-currencies remains strong among financial advisors’ clients. “Despite the market’s performance, the most common question was, “Should I consider a crypto investment?”“, the survey results reveal.

Financial advisors are optimistic about crypto-currencies in the long run.

Crypto asset manager Bitwise Asset Management released a report Tuesday titled “Bitwise/Vettafi 2023 Benchmark Survey of Financial Advisor Attitudes Toward Crypto Assets“. This is the fifth annual Bitwise study conducted in collaboration with Vettafi, an exchange traded fund (ETF) platform.

The survey was conducted between November 25, 2022 and January 6, 2023, with participation from 491 financial advisors, including registered independent investment advisors, broker-dealer representatives, financial planners and wirehouse representatives across the United States. According to the survey results:

Despite the sharp market correction of 2022, financial advisors remain highly engaged in crypto markets, with 15% allocation in client accounts and 90% receiving inbound questions from clients about the space.

“Survey reminds us that crypto is one of the best business development opportunities in the financial advisor market” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise.

The majority of respondents are optimistic about bitcoin in the long term, but pessimistic this year, with 63% expecting bitcoin’s value to rise in 2023, while 60% think it will be higher in five years. “While advisors’ interest in bitcoin (41%) was about twice that of ethereum (20%), their optimism about the two largest cryptocurrencies was almost evenly split“, Bitwise described, adding that 53% favored bitcoin while 47% preferred ETH.

Reiterating that customer interest in crypto “remains strong“, as 90% of financial advisors “Have received a question about crypto from clients in the last year“, the report details:

Despite the market’s performance, the most common question was, “Should I consider investing in crypto?”

“Despite market volatility, 78% of advisors who currently have an allocation in client accounts plan to maintain or increase that exposure in 2023“, the survey further found. Of the respondents, 59% said that “some” or “all“their clients were investing in crypto on their own.

In addition, the “ETFs of crypto stocks“were the top crypto investment choice for financial advisors for 2023. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved several bitcoin futures ETFs, but has yet to approve a bitcoin cash ETF.