CoinShares Survey: Digital Assets Now Held by a Majority of Affluent Investors in Seven Major Markets

CoinShares commissioned and funded the online survey, whose results are subject to sampling and self-selection effects.

Rhea-AI Summary

CoinShares (Nasdaq: CSHR) published a survey of 2,230 affluent investors examining digital asset ownership and investment intentions across seven markets.

Digital assets were held by 54%–70% of respondents across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Average portfolio allocations clustered around 10%. Among current digital asset investors, the share likely to increase exposure in 2026 ranged from 71% in Sweden to 91% in the US, UK and Germany. In every market, more respondents said February's downturn made them more likely to invest than less likely.

Strategic motives averaged 41% among current investors, versus 19% for speculation. Intermediated access was preferred by 55%, while 69% would consider a wealth manager with crypto expertise. The findings describe surveyed investors, not CoinShares' financial performance.

Key Figures

Survey respondents: 2,230 investors Digital asset ownership: 54%–around 70% Average portfolio allocation: around 10% +5 more

Survey respondents

2,230 investors

Survey across seven markets

Digital asset ownership

54%–around 70%

Reported range across markets; lowest in Sweden

Average portfolio allocation

around 10%

Across markets

Support for increased regulation

79%

Digital asset market survey respondents

Policy-linked investment intent

68%–79% vs. 49%–65%

US Administration agenda vs. EU MiCA framework, across markets

Downturn-related investment intent

54% more likely vs. 23% less likely

Germany, after the February 2026 downturn

Plan to increase exposure

71%–91%

Current digital asset investors across seven markets in 2026

Bitcoin ownership

80%

Average share of digital asset investors

Key Terms

crypto etps, mica, hnwis

3 terms

crypto etps financial

"brokerage platforms, crypto ETPs, custodial wealth management"

Exchange-traded products (ETPs) that provide market exposure to one or more cryptocurrencies and trade on regulated securities exchanges like a stock. Crypto ETPs can be structured as funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded notes (ETNs), or other wrappers; some hold the underlying digital assets (physically backed) while others use derivatives or debt claims to replicate crypto price movements (synthetic). They settle and trade in the same way as other exchange-traded securities, charge management or issuer fees, and may involve custody, counterparty, and regulatory differences compared with directly owning cryptocurrency.

mica regulatory

"against 49–65% for the EU's MiCA framework"

Mica is a naturally occurring group of minerals that split into thin, shiny sheets and is used as an insulating material and filler in products such as electronics, cosmetics, paints and construction materials. Investors care because mica is a key input whose supply, quality and price affect manufacturing costs and product performance, and because its mining and sourcing carry environmental and ethical risks that can impact company reputations and valuations—like a single critical ingredient changing a recipe’s outcome.

hnwis financial

"the report's umbrella term is "HNWIs""

High-net-worth individuals (HNWI or HNWIs) are private persons whose investable wealth exceeds a threshold used by financial firms to segment clients and determine eligibility for certain services. The threshold is not a single legal standard and varies by country and by firm or research provider, but industry practice commonly treats those with at least about $1 million in liquid financial assets as HNWIs; higher labels such as “very” or “ultra” HNWI are used for much larger balances. The term describes a client category for marketing, wealth management and product access and does not automatically confer a regulatory status unless a specific law or rule defines it.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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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

Company | +44 (0)1534 513 100 | enquiries@coinshares.com
Investor Relations | +44 (0)1534 513 100 | corporateir@coinshares.com

Press Contact
CoinShares
Benoît Pellevoizin
bpellevoizin@coinshares.com

M Group Strategic Communications
Peter Padovano
coinshares@mgroupsc.com

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

Who qualified for CoinShares' 2026 affluent investor crypto survey?

Respondents had at least $500,000 in investable assets excluding real estate and had made at least one investment transaction in the past 12 months. The sample was split evenly between investors with $1 million or more and those with $500,000–999,999, using gender and age quotas.

How was CoinShares' 2026 crypto survey conducted, and what are its limitations?

The online survey ran from May 11 to June 5, 2026, and its results are subject to sampling and self-selection effects. Vardaxoglou Advisory designed it with CoinShares, which commissioned and funded it and offers digital asset investment products. Agreement and likelihood questions used balanced five-point scales, with grouped categories identified in the report.