'Vast Majority' of Institutions Will Own Crypto by 2026: Fidelity

The crypto industry got a dose of good news in the form of a new Fidelity survey suggesting mass institutional adoption is coming.

By Jeff John Roberts

Fidelity Digital Assets provides crypto custody services. Image: Shutterstock

In brief

• A survey from Fidelity Digital Assets found 90% of institutional investors planned to own crypto by 2026
• Interest is strongest in Asia, but investors in Europe and the U.S. are becoming more bullish as well

The number of institutional investors—wealth managers, foundations and so on—that own crypto assets has grown dramatically, and will continue to do so in the future, according to a new survey from Fidelity Digital Assets.

According to the survey, 70% of institutional investors intend to buy or invest in digital assets in the near future, with over 90% of them planning to do so by 2026.

While the crypto industry churns out optimistic surveys on a regular basis, the Fidelity findings are worth noting given the company's size and influence in the broader financial markets. The findings are also a bit of bright news for the industry at a time when markets have been mired in a months-long slump.

Tom Jessop, the president of Fidelity Digital Assets, attributes the bullish findings to a "growing sophistication" toward crypto among professional money managers, and new attitudes borne of recent crises.

“The pandemic—and fiscal and monetary measures in response to it—has been a catalyst for many institutional investors to define their investment thesis and operationalize it," said Jessop in a statement.

The survey, which was conducted blindly, sought the views of more than 1,100 institutional investors, roughly divided across the U.S., Europe and Asia. It defined crypto ownership as owning digital assets directly or investing in companies in the crypto field.

Another notable feature of the survey was that Asian investors currently have considerable more exposure to crypto than other parts of the world, but that those in the U.S. and Europe are catching up rapidly.

There is still some skepticism toward crypto among institutions, however. Investors cited price volatility as the prime deterrent to acquiring crypto, but also expressed concern over the risk of market manipulation and the lack of fundamentals to gauge value.