Crypto Investment Among Asian Private Wealth Managers Rises To 76%: Report

According to a report by Aspen Digital, crypto assets are becoming increasingly popular among Asian private wealth managers, as 76% said they are investing in cryptocurrencies.

Potential Upside Leading To Greater Interest In Crypto

Titled “Asian Private Wealth in Digital Assets,” the report sheds light on the rising adoption of digital assets among Asian private wealth managers. 

The report surveyed approximately 100 family offices (FOs), high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and asset managers across Asian countries like Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong in the second half of 2024.

The proportion of respondents investing in cryptocurrencies has surged to 76% in 2024, up from 58% in 2022, according to a previous study. Additionally, 18% of respondents plan to invest in crypto assets shortly.

A staggering 94% of FOs and HNIs are either currently investing or plan to invest in digital assets. Commenting on the change in attitude toward cryptocurrencies, Elliot Andrews, CEO, Aspen Digital, said:

For the private wealth segment, the conversation has largely changed from whether the asset class is investable, to how much of the portfolio should be allocated. Despite only being launched this year, the ETFs are the fastest growing of all time. These have still only been adopted by a small proportion of institutional investors but have added a huge amount of legitimacy to the asset class.

The approval of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year gave the leading digital asset strong regulatory backing, making investors more comfortable adding crypto exposure to their portfolios.

Bitcoin ETFs became the fastest-growing ETFs of all time, with BlackRock’s IBIT amassing $10 billion in assets under management (AUM) in just 49 days. The previous record was held by JPMorgan’s JPEQ, which took 647 days to reach the same milestone.

In 2024, key areas of interest for private wealth managers include decentralized finance (DeFi), AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), and real-world asset tokenization. Notably, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto as a “store of value” no longer rank among digital assets’ top areas of interest.

Hopes For A $100,000 Bitcoin By Year End

The report also mentions that 31% of respondents predict BTC may surge to at least $100,000 by the end of 2024, while 10% foresee prices falling below $60,000.

While the $100,000 BTC target might sound too optimistic – especially considering the digital asset’s recent see-sawing price action due to heightened geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East – several crypto analysts and indicators suggest it is not optimistic enough.

For example, crypto analyst Ali Martinez recently pointed to Bitcoin’s “cup and handle” formation, a classic bullish signal that could propel the price between $194,000 and $352,000.

On the contrary, a recent report posited that Bitcoin’s four-year cycles – a historically bullish indicator due to BTC’s halving – may no longer be reliable in predicting BTC’s future price trajectory.

Additionally, Bitcoin’s Google search volume has tumbled to new 2024 lows, questioning the likelihood of any potential BTC rally in Q4 2024. BTC trades at $67,148 at press time, down 0.4% in the past 24 hours.