CoinShares Survey: Digital Assets Now Held by a Majority of Affluent Investors in Seven Major Markets
Across the US and six European markets, average allocations cluster around 10% of portfolios, February's downturn made investors more likely to invest — not less — and policy signals enjoy a positive reaction
JERSEY, Channel Islands — Monday, 5, October — CoinShares PLC (Nasdaq: CSHR) ("CoinShares" or the "Company"), a leading global asset manager specialising in digital assets, today published the CoinShares Affluent Investor Crypto Report, a survey of 2,230 affluent investors across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Switzerland, conducted with the strategic research consultancy Vardaxoglou Advisory. CoinShares believes it is one of the largest such surveys ever dedicated to digital assets. A majority holds digital assets in every market, from 54% in Sweden to around 70% in the US, UK, Germany, and Switzerland. The February 2026 downturn — the sharpest in several years — left more investors more likely to invest than less in all seven markets.
The starting point was a gap. Digital assets are more established than ever, and they still divide opinion. Institutions remain cautious — in CoinShares' Citywire survey of 261 European wealth managers, adviser views were largely set by conservative firm policy, volatility (56%) and crypto's speculative nature (52%) the top perceived reasons clients hold back. The affluent themselves are markedly less so: conviction where the institutional consensus counsels restraint. Two explanations point in opposite directions — the appetite for risk that built the wealth, or risk simply affordable at that level. So CoinShares asked 2,230 of them.
The audience merits attention. Where affluent investors allocate shapes which sectors grow; their wealth is globally mobile. They are the core clients of wealth managers, family offices, and private banks — firms with little data on them, because wealth studies treat digital assets as a side question. This report makes them the subject. And in what economists describe as a K-shaped economy, their decisions carry more weight each year.
What the survey finds
A committed, long-horizon investor base. Average allocations cluster around 10% of the portfolio — a weight comparable to private equity, commodities, or real estate. Just 6% identify primarily as short-term traders, the smallest active profile in every market; among current investors, speculation is not a common primary motivation, at 19% on average against 41% for strategic motives. In four of the seven markets, investors rank crypto first among financial assets for expected long-term performance. The motivation matches: strategic motives — long-term appreciation and diversification — lead everywhere, while speculation ranks last. And 77% believe Bitcoin will play a significant role in the future global financial system as confidence in fiat currencies declines.
Policy moves capital — and the institutional signal leads. 79% support increased regulation of the digital asset market. The US Administration's pro-crypto agenda lifts investment intent for 68–79% across markets, against 49–65% for the EU's MiCA framework. President Trump's personal endorsement lifts intent for 57% of investors on average, ranging from 41% in Sweden to 66% in the US — though the institutional signal from the US Administration outperforms it in every market.
Tested by the downturn, and holding. In all seven markets, more investors said the February downturn made them more likely to invest than less — Germany most decisively, 54% against 23%. Among current investors, 85% or more in five of seven markets plan to increase exposure in 2026, reaching 91% in the US, UK, and Germany.
Macro over technicals. Macro factors lead the list of investment triggers: economic factors such as interest rates and inflation average 47% across markets and structural changes in the global economic order 41%, against 36% for technical analysis — once the primary language of crypto investing.
Bitcoin anchors a diversified, institutionalised portfolio. Bitcoin is held by 80% of digital asset investors on average; 89% of Bitcoin investors also hold other digital assets, and Bitcoin-only portfolios range from just 5% of digital asset investors in the US to 15% in France. 55% prefer intermediated access — brokerage platforms, crypto ETPs, custodial wealth management — over direct exchanges. Brand recognition and trust ranks first among platform criteria in every market; low fees rank fifth.
Advisers are in demand. Wealth managers are the most trusted source of digital asset information in every market — by 25 to 30 points over most other sources in the US and UK, narrowly in Sweden and Switzerland. 69% would consider working with a wealth manager with crypto expertise, 88% acknowledge they lack the knowledge to invest with full confidence, and 98% of current investors open to advisory services are willing to pay for them. Yet roughly four in ten of those working with an adviser in Switzerland, France, the US, and Germany call that adviser overly cautious about digital assets.
Seven markets at a glance
| Market | Hold digital assets | More likely to invest after the February 2026 downturn | Current investors likely to increase exposure in 2026 |
| US | 70% | 49% | 91% |
| UK | 70% | 45% | 91% |
| France | 66% | 49% | 87% |
| Germany | 70% | 54% | 91% |
| Italy | 58% | 41% | 85% |
| Switzerland | 69% | 45% | 78% |
| Sweden | 54% | 40% | 71% |
Source: CoinShares Affluent Investor Crypto Report, Figs. 7, 6, and 8. Likelihood shares are grouped from balanced five-point scales; the increase-exposure column is based on current digital asset investors. The report does not publish a standalone per-market average allocation figure; allocations are reported as clustering around 10% across markets.
The next generation allocates more. Investors aged 18–44 allocate roughly twice the portfolio share of older investors in four of the seven markets, and more in every market; in every market they are also more likely to increase exposure in 2026. An estimated $84 trillion is expected to pass to younger heirs — primarily Millennials and Gen Z — over the next two decades (source: World Economic Forum, 2025). In the US, where the sample mirrors CoinShares' 2025 wave, key indicators tracked rose year on year — crypto ranked first for long-term performance up 13 points to 40%, "extremely likely" to increase exposure up 20 points to 64%.
The report extends the research practice CoinShares has maintained since 2013 — wealth management, hybrid finance, Bitcoin mining, the major protocols — to the same standard: transparent sample, stated limits, methodology in full. The purpose has not changed: to give investors clarity, and with clarity, agency.
About the survey
The study was designed by Vardaxoglou Advisory, a strategic research consultancy, in collaboration with CoinShares, which commissioned and funded it; CoinShares offers digital asset investment products. An online survey was conducted between May 11 and June 5, 2026 among 2,230 respondents: US (502), UK (305), Germany (305), France (304), Italy (304), Sweden (304), and Switzerland (206), constructed with gender and age quotas and split evenly between two wealth bands — $1 million or more and $500,000–999,999, in investable assets excluding real estate, with at least one investment transaction in the past 12 months. This release uses "affluent investors" for the two bands combined; the report's umbrella term is "HNWIs", while its country method pages distinguish high-net-worth ($1 million+) from sub-HNWI ($500,000–999,999) respondents. The US sample mirrors CoinShares' 2025 survey of US affluent investors to support year-on-year comparison. The methodology is published in full: sample construction, wealth-band definitions, question wording, and scale groupings are stated in the report, with agreement and likelihood questions measured on balanced five-point scales and grouped categories noted on individual figures. As with all online panel surveys, results are subject to sampling and self-selection effects. Country-by-country reports are included in the report.
The full report is available at https://coinshares.com/insights/investors-survey-2026/
About Vardaxoglou Advisory
Vardaxoglou Advisory is a strategic research consultancy, offering a variety of services at the intersection of public opinion research, communication strategy, and strategic counsel for leaders. www.vardaxoglou-advisory.com
About CoinShares
CoinShares PLC (“CoinShares”) is a leading global asset manager specialising in digital assets, that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment management, trading and securities to a wide array of clients that includes corporations, financial institutions and individuals. Focusing on crypto since 2013, the firm is headquartered in Jersey, with offices in France, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the United States. CoinShares’ affiliated entities are regulated in Jersey by the Jersey Financial Services Commission, in France by the Autorité des marchés financiers, and in the US by the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Futures Association and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. CoinShares PLC is publicly listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker CSHR.
For more information on CoinShares, please visit: https://coinshares.com
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