Nickel: Digital assets are moving into a mature institutional phase
Digital assets are moving into a ‘mature institutional phase’ with the development of the sector mirroring the growth of private markets, a new report from London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management (Nickel) says.
Its report based on global research with institutional investors (pension funds, family offices, insurance asset managers and hedge funds) and wealth managers collectively managing more than $14 trillion in assets, found that 91% will increase digital asset holdings in the year ahead and 65% rank digital assets as one of their top five asset classes for risk-adjusted returns over the next five years.
That was higher than the 61% choosing private equity and the 53% selecting European equities and commodities within the report ‘The next stage of the digital assets investment revolution.’
Nickel believes the study across the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates shows that the evolution of digital assets mirrors the development of private markets as a whole. The research found that 58% of institutional investors and wealth managers regard digital assets as part of their allocation to alternative asset classes while 42% rate digital assets as a sector on their own.
Research for the report found pension funds and wealth managers are among the investor types likely to lead adoption of digital assets over the next two years. Around 69% of professional investors questioned say pension fund investment will increase dramatically while 60% say the same about wealth managers.
Nickel’s report examines a wide range of other issues including Digital Asset Treasury companies crypto IPOs and the launch of ETFs as well as tokenization and the attraction of careers in crypto.
