Crypto Craze Sweeps Hedge Funds As 55% Add Digital Assets To Portfolios
According to AIMA and PwC’s Seventh Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report, greater than half of conventional hedge funds now maintain crypto.
The survey reveals 55% have some crypto publicity, up from 47% in 2024. That quantity alone alerts a shift in how mainstream managers deal with these property.
Crypto: Broad Adoption, Small Stakes
Most managers are being cautious, for now. Many funds hold their digital forex positions tiny. Over half of these with publicity maintain lower than 2% of their portfolios in crypto.
On common, funds put about 7% into crypto-related investments. Yet plans level upward: 71% of holding funds say they are going to elevate their positions over the following 12 months.
Risk is on their minds. Reasons given embrace portfolio diversification (47%), market-neutral alpha alternatives (27%), and uneven return potential (13%).
The survey’s scale offers weight to the development. The report requested 122 hedge fund managers controlling over $980 billion in property. That pattern reveals a 17% year-over-year improve within the share of funds holding crypto.
Many managers favor oblique publicity. According to the findings, 67% use digital forex derivatives — up from 58% in 2024 — which lets them take positions with out holding cash straight.
That strategy may be safer on paper. But it additionally carries dangers. The October 2025 flash crash brought on near $20 billion in liquidations, a stark reminder of what can occur when markets transfer rapidly.
How Funds Gain Market Exposure
Spot buying and selling is rising whereas derivatives stay widespread. Spot buying and selling grew from 25% to 40% as a technique of entry. Exchange-traded merchandise account for 33%.
Tokenized assets and associated equities every sit at 27%. The numbers present funds need selection. Derivatives supply flexibility; spot offers direct possession. Both have locations in portfolios, relying on guidelines and threat limits.
Crypto-native funds are getting larger. Pure crypto managers report bigger swimming pools of capital. Average property beneath administration reached greater than $130 million in 2025, in contrast with $79 million in 2024 and over $40 million in 2023.
The cash held most frequently are Bitcoin (86%), Ethereum (80%), Solana (73%), and XRP (37%). Solana’s adoption jumped from 45% final yr. Yield methods are widespread too — custodial staking is utilized by 39% of crypto funds and liquid staking by 35%.
Institutional Interest Up
Institutional curiosity is rising, however limitations stay. Fund-of-funds participation rose to nearly 40% in 2025 from 21% in 2024. Institutional allocations from pension funds, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds climbed to twenty% from 11%.
Two-thirds of institutional traders surveyed now allocate to digital property. Yet half of conventional hedge funds with out crypto say they won’t put money into the following three years.
Featured picture from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
