A new survey from HANetf conducted across 75 wealth managers in the UK and Europe found that 75% of respondents expect to increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies over the next year, despite the sharp drop in all major cryptocurrencies over the 12 months.
Of the 13 major cryptocurrencies featured in the study none of them made a positive return over H1 2022. The smallest loss came from Bitcoin, which was down 59.6% during that time, according to HANetf. Its one year performance was down 41.9%, a long way from its November 2021 peak.
But this has evidently not impacted the wealth managers' bullish stance on the asset.
Wealth managers were split on how the regulatory environment would change for cryptocurrencies in the next three years, with 52% believing regulators will make it harder for investors to access them, while 41% said regulators will embrace them.
The UK was the favourite spot for crypto regulation, with the wealth managers responding it would become the most favourable regulatory environment for cryptocurrency in Europe over the next five years (26%), while 20% of wealth managers favoured Switzerland and 19% picked both Germany and Italy.
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Cryptocurrency is still finding its permanent place in investors portfolios today, mainly due to its unknown nature and high levels of volatility.
According to the survey though, the wealth managers regard cryptocurrency as most closely related to gold at 43%. However, a sizeable number saw crypto as closest to tech stocks (33%) and collectables (20%). Only 4% saw crypto as a standalone asset.
When asked which cryptocurrency the respondents viewed favourably, Bitcoin was the only one with positive reception at 58%. Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, saw only a 16% approval.
Hector McNeil, co-CEO and co-founder of HANetf, said: "As the survey results in the Review show, investors are increasingly interested in cryptoassets, despite the especially volatile start to this year. At HANetf we believe that providing timely and high-quality research and content is a must for any ETP issuer today."