A Survey Was Made Among Giant Investors: Bitcoin or Ethereum?

• A total of 51 investors managing over $900 billion in assets participated in a three-month survey, with 43% of the participants indicating that BTC has a superior upside potential compared to ETH.
• The aggressive stance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) towards this emerging sector continues to significantly impact family offices, institutions, and wealth managers.
• Data from CoinShares shows a substantial contraction in the allocation of digital assets in portfolios, with the weight dropping from 1.8% in April to 0.7% by the end of June.

51 investors managing over $900 billion in assets expressed their views by participating in CoinShares’ survey, revealing that Bitcoin has the most attractive growth potential!

Do Big Players Prefer BTC or ETH?

The CoinShares survey revealed that despite Bitcoin being identified as the cryptocurrency with the most attractive growth potential, Ethereum still holds the largest position in portfolios. A total of 51 investors managing over $900 billion in assets participated in the three-month survey, with 43% of the participants indicating that BTC has a superior upside potential compared to ETH.

However, the SEC’s aggressive stance towards this emerging sector continues to impact family offices, institutions, and wealth managers. Concerns are growing about stricter regulations and even a potential ban, which pose significant risks for cryptocurrencies in the future.

Nevertheless, the news is not entirely negative. Despite notable collapses like FTX and Three Arrows Capital, reputation damage no longer prevents institutional investors from exposure to digital assets. The banking crisis and the desire for diversification have been driving forces. However, public interest from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has played a significant role in emotional influence.

Data from CoinShares shows a substantial contraction in the allocation of digital assets in portfolios, dropping from 1.8% in April to 0.7% by the end of June. Furthermore, the first half of 2023 recorded a $400 million outflow.

Why is BlackRock’s ETF application so important?

BlackRock’s application to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in June may have served as a catalyst to prevent further erosion of investor sentiment. Why? Because the return of a $470 million fund to the market took only three weeks, indicating that institutional investors are not discounting cryptocurrencies.

There are even indications that some asset managers are ready to show interest in smaller market-cap cryptocurrencies. Polkadot and Cardano emerged as big winners in the recent CoinShares survey, while XRP, which received a favorable ruling stating that secondary sales do not constitute securities, was also notably positively impacted. This ruling was sufficient to encourage Coinbase to relist the token. However, challenges persist. Concerns about custody and accessibility have increased among institutional investors, indicating their discomfort with not fully aligning with “methods of acquiring assets.”

70% of survey participants are from Europe and the Middle East, 25% from North America, and approximately 5% from Asia. Therefore, the survey may not fully reflect the sentiment in the United States at the moment.