Digital assets firm Coinshares has reported that the value of digital assets investments in investors’ portfolios has reached 1.8%. According to the firm, this is the highest weighting for crypto assets in investors’ portfolios in a year.
The firm disclosed this in its Digital Asset Fund Manager Survey for April, noting that the increase in digital assets allocation by investor portfolios is due to the improving sentiments about crypto assets as well as the rise in price.
Although most cryptocurrencies are still trading below their all-time high, recent positive performance has led to a shift in sentiment that is driving portfolio growth. This is evident in the $3.4 billion inflows into digital assets investment products last week, which is the third largest ever.
However, the major driving force behind crypto investments is the need for diversification among investors. This reason, more than any other rationale, is why investors are putting their money in crypto. Other factors, such as client demand and good value, have actually declined, likely because of the price correction that crypto assets faced.
As the firm noted:
“Diversification is now the leading reason for digital asset investment, overtaking access to distributed ledger technology. Speculation is rising but remains a secondary motive.”
Interestingly, retail investors still have the most exposure to digital assets. However, institutional investors have increased their interest, with their positions growing by an average of 2.5% over the period, based on responses from 32 institutional investors with $478 billion in assets under management.
Bitcoin remains the leading assets for investors
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is still the only crypto asset that most investors are adding to their portfolio, with 63% of respondents to the survey saying they now have exposure to it. This represents a 15% increase compared to January 2025.
The increase in exposure to the flagship asset is not surprising, given that the cryptocurrency has shown significant resilience throughout the year. Despite seeing massive price corrections and falling 9% in the last 90 days, it has been able to bounce back in the face of economic uncertainty.
BTC is now up 0.5% year to date while gaining 2.5% in the last week. With its performance, it also leads net inflows for digital assets products with $3.73 billion in year-to-date flow.
Interestingly, the outlook for the asset is also very good, with analysts expecting it to see further increases in value in the coming weeks. According to CryptoQuant analyst Carmelo Aleman, realized capitalization for Bitcoin set a new all-time high of $882.228 billion on April 29.
Realized capitalization is an on-chain metric that values BTC based on the price it was last transferred onchain to determine how much has been invested in Bitcoin, and it is a bullish signal.
Aleman wrote:
“Historically, large accumulations of Realized Capitalization have been mostly followed by considerable price increases in Bitcoin.”
While Bitcoin is solidifying its position as the z asset with the most exposure from investors, Ethereum is still second, followed by Solana. However, altcoins have generally seen a decline in their percentage of investors with exposure to them, likely due to the struggling prices compared to Bitcoin.
Volatility remains biggest risk for investors
Meanwhile, the volatility of crypto assets remains the biggest reason why some investors have not gained exposure to the category. In fact, 35% of investors now point to this as a concern, a sizable increase compared to the last report, when it was just 20%.
Coinshares analysts note that the concerns about volatility might be misplaced because Bitcoin’s performance has been less volatile than that of equities, showing that perception bias might be at play.
It said:
“Among those who have not yet invested, volatility is still cited as the primary reason – despite Bitcoin currently exhibiting lower volatility than equities. We believe this highlights a significant gap between perception and reality.”
Interestingly, even those who have invested also point to volatility as a key risk. Other major concerns include regulatory uncertainty, political concerns, reputational risks, and a lack of fundamentals.
Your crypto news deserves attention - KEY Difference Wire puts you on 250+ top sites
