‍Author: cryptoslate; Compilation: Blockchain Knight

According to a new survey conducted by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon, institutional investors are increasingly bullish about Crypto assets, with 83% planning to increase their Crypto asset allocation this year.

The study conducted a survey of 352 institutional decision makers in January and found that investors' confidence in digital assets continues to grow as regulatory clarity increases and wider use cases emerge.

Most (59%) respondents plan to allocate more than 5% of their asset management scale (AUM) to Crypto assets in 2025, marking the transition of Crypto assets from marginal investments to a key component of their portfolio.

This trend continues the strong performance of the Crypto asset market in 2024, with the continuous rise in applications of stablecoins, DeFi and tokenized assets.

Stablecoins continue to be favored by institutions, with 84% of the surveyed investors currently using or considering using stablecoins for various purposes other than trading.

Return generation (73%), Forex (69%) and internal cash management (68%) are considered the main drivers of the use of stablecoins.

DeFi is still in its early stages in institutional participation, but its growth momentum is significant. Currently, only 24% of investors are involved in DeFi, but this proportion is expected to triple to 75% by 2027.

Institutional investors are particularly interested in DeFi derivatives, pledge and lending products, which highlights the potential of DeFi to subvert traditional financial services.

While BTC and Ethereum continue to dominate the institutional portfolio, 73% of respondents said they hold at least one other Crypto asset.

XRP and SOL are the most commonly held alternative Crypto assets. In addition, 68% of investors said they were interested in exchange-traded products (ETPs) that provide single asset exposure. Regulatory clarity is a growth catalyst

Although the outlook is optimistic, regulatory uncertainty remains a major challenge.

More than half (52%) of the surveyed investors view regulation as their most concerned issue, followed by volatility (47%) and custody security (33%).

However, 68% of respondents believe that a clearer regulation will drive the next wave of institutional adoption of Crypto assets.

The report emphasizes that institutional investors continue to shift to the digital asset field, their allocations continue to increase, their application scenarios are becoming more diverse, and their participation in related products is also expanding.

Although regulatory developments and market volatility may present obstacles, the overall trend indicates that Crypto assets will continue in institutional portfolios.