Bitcoin Remains the Top Crypto Choice for Institutional Investors: Report

Highlights:

• Bitwise found that Bitcoin remains the main crypto holding among institutions, often serving as their largest position.
• Most institutions kept or increased crypto exposure during the market downturn instead of reducing their allocations.
• Spot crypto ETFs are becoming a preferred access route because they simplify costs, operations and portfolio management.

Institutional investors are staying invested in crypto, and Bitcoin remains their main asset, according to a new report from Bitwise Asset Management. The report found that most institutions held onto their positions during the recent market decline, while some chose to buy more.

Bitwise published its first Institutional Crypto Adoption Report on September 23. The firm interviewed senior investment professionals responsible for crypto decisions at 15 major institutions, including endowments, foundations, public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, multi-family offices and public companies. The interviews were conducted between late March and April.

INSIGHT: Bitwise released its first Institutional Crypto Adoption Report, and the findings are bullish. 🤯

✅ 0 institutions cut crypto exposure during the ~50% drawdown
✅ Every crypto-holding institution owns Bitcoin
✅ Most allocations are around 1%-2%
✅ Several bought more… pic.twitter.com/wFljhY8XqR

— CryptosRus (@CryptosR_Us) September 24, 2026

Bitcoin Leads Institutional Crypto Allocations

Bitcoin was the clearest point of agreement among the investors surveyed. Every institution in the study that owned crypto also held Bitcoin. For nearly all of them, BTC was their first, largest and longest-held cryptocurrency position. Many investors described Bitcoin as a store of value and placed it alongside gold in their portfolios. Some viewed both assets as protection against the long-term loss of purchasing power in traditional currencies.

Crypto exposure varied a lot across the institutions surveyed. Allocations ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, but most kept only 1% to 2% of their portfolios in crypto. They gained exposure through spot ETFs, direct holdings, venture capital and hedge funds.

Institutions Avoid Selling Despite Sharp Crypto Market Drop

Bitwise found that institutional investors stayed in the market despite the recent crypto downturn. Crypto prices fell about 50% between last October and April, but none of the institutions surveyed reduced their holdings. Some even bought more as prices dropped.

The investors said falling prices alone would not make them sell. They would rethink their positions only if the investment case weakened, regulation changed sharply, or the industry lost wider trust. Institutions took a more cautious approach to Ethereum and Solana. Those holding ETH or SOL usually kept smaller positions and planned to hold them for less time. Some said they could cut their exposure if wider adoption failed to bring enough value to the tokens.

Spot Crypto ETFs Make Institutional Access Easier

Spot crypto ETFs have also changed how large investors gain exposure to digital assets. Almost every institution interviewed either already uses spot ETFs or plans to use them. According to Bitwise, some of the main factors included lower costs, ease of management, and simplified portfolio management. But there are certain barriers to institutional adoption as well. Some of these include investment committees, policy issues, reputational issues, and asset classification.

Bitwise found that bigger institutions often took smaller crypto positions because more people had to sign off on each investment. Family offices could move faster and were more willing to allocate larger amounts. Sovereign wealth funds, on the other hand, faced stricter rules and longer approval processes. Bitcoin remained the most widely held asset, while Ethereum and Solana played a smaller role.

On the other hand, Bitcoin was hovering around $83,300, having lost almost 3% over the last 24 hours and about 34% from its ATH of $126,198. Meanwhile, BTC has flashed a rare on-chain signal, appearing for only the fifth time. CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said the move points to improving market momentum.

✅ Bull Market Confirmed.

After sharing with you that the end of the bear market was approaching with a signal given on July 11th, we now have the confirmation signal that the momentum has indeed shifted.

This is the 5th occurrence, which gives a bit more credibility to the… pic.twitter.com/wuwdUsAW5J

— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) September 24, 2026