Bitcoin and crypto allocations rise among financial advisors

Crypto markets may be seesawing, but financial advisors’ willingness to buy digital assets in client portfolios is only moving in one direction: up.

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In 2025, a record 32% of advisors reported investing in cryptocurrency in client accounts, according to a survey of financial advisors by asset manager Bitwise and index provider VettaFi.

That figure is up 10 percentage points from 2024, despite a volatile trading period for bellwether assets like bitcoin. Over the course of the survey’s fielding from Oct. 31 to Dec. 8, the price of bitcoin tumbled some 17%. Since hitting an all-time high of $126,000 in early October, bitcoin has fallen roughly 30%.

Still, advisors like Ramiro Marmolejo, founder of Financial Rubrics in San Antonio, Texas, expect the share of clients investing in crypto to continue growing.

“Much of this is driven by the current administration’s shift toward easing regulations and actively promoting the digital asset space,” Marmolejo said. “This ‘pro-crypto’ posturing provides a sense of legitimacy that helps individual investors feel more comfortable entering the market.”

Alongside new entrants, existing crypto investors are also increasing their stakes. Nearly two-thirds of crypto-exposed portfolios now allocate more than 2%, compared with just over half in 2024.

“This suggests that while crypto plays a satellite role in investor portfolios, its prominence relative to other assets is rising,” researchers wrote.

A diverse picture of crypto ownership

The share of advisors who invest in cryptocurrency in client accounts can vary significantly depending on what industry channels they fall in.

RIAs were the most likely to allocate to crypto in client accounts (42%), followed by wirehouse representatives (35%), independent broker-dealer reps (25%), and financial planners (18%).

Advisor sentiment isn’t the only force behind these figures. Firm policies also play a significant role, according to Chris Diodato, founder of WELLth Financial Planning in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

“There are still broker-dealers out there that explicitly forbid [advisors] from giving advice on or recommending crypto investments,” Diodato said. “Some firms are starting to become more lenient, but many place explicit restrictions on the allocation amount and type of crypto investments, often ETFs only, one is allowed to make on behalf of clients.”

Still, major players are beginning to shift toward more permissive crypto policies. Last October, Morgan Stanley told its advisors that they could begin recommending bitcoin and ether investments to any client, regardless of asset levels or risk tolerance. In December, Bank of America followed suit, announcing that its wealth advisors could begin to recommend allocations to crypto in client portfolios come January.

That policy momentum is showing up in survey results. In 2025, 42% of advisors said they could buy crypto for clients, up from 35% in 2024.

“While that still leaves 58% who said they were either unable to buy crypto in client accounts or unsure whether they could, it’s a compelling sign that crypto is moving into the mainstream phase of institutional adoption,” researchers wrote.

At the same time, many clients continue to invest in crypto on their own. Nearly three-quarters of advisors surveyed said their clients held crypto outside the advisory relationship in 2025, up from 71% a year earlier.

“While more advisors are allocating on behalf of clients, it’s clear that held-away assets represent a substantial business opportunity to help clients integrate crypto into a broader wealth plan,” researchers wrote. “This is becoming more important in light of surveys pointing to a generational investing shift, with younger individuals having more of their portfolio in crypto than older generations.”

Roadblocks remain for crypto adoption

Even as the appetite for crypto grows among clients and advisors, volatility and regulatory concerns remain sticking points.

In this year’s Bitwise/VettaFi survey, volatility topped the list of factors discouraging advisors from expanding or beginning crypto allocations, with 57% listing it as a roadblock. Regulatory concerns (53%), company restrictions (48%) and the inability to value cryptocurrency (36%) were other top concerns listed by advisors.

And while many advisors are willing to tackle those roadblocks in their own investments — 56% of advisors surveyed reported owning crypto in their personal portfolios — doing so with clients is a different story.

“I think there’s still a ‘CYA’ (cover your you-know-what) argument with cryptocurrency investments for clients, as most clients don’t have a deep understanding of the asset class outside of knowing that it’s volatile,” Diodato said by email. “Even if it’s a small slug of a portfolio, a client could easily latch onto crypto performance in a bad year and go to a bad place, potentially firing or suing their advisor for investing in speculative assets that a client didn’t understand. There are potentially large business risks to owning crypto for clients, and some advisors might say it’s not worth the trouble.”