In brief
- A Bitwise survey released today shows that financial advisors are becoming more interested in cryptocurrency.
- Bitwise surveyed nearly 1,000 financial advisors.
- There was a near 50% increase in the number of advisors allocating crypto in 2020.
A survey published today by crypto index provider Bitwise has found the number of America’s financial advisors allocating crypto increased by almost 50% between 2019 and 2020.
Bitwise surveyed almost 1,000 financial advisors, and found multiple indicators that the financial advisory industry became more interested in crypto in 2020 compared to 2019.
“Adoption and interest are growing: The survey suggests the number of advisors allocating could double or more in the year ahead,” said Hougan.
Key findings of the survey
According to Bitwise, there has been a near 50% increase in the number of advisors allocating crypto. This figure rose from 6.3% to 9.4% in 2020.
In addition, 17% of financial advisors are considering making their first allocation in crypto this year. Among them, 2% are “definitely” allocating crypto this year, whereas 15% are “probably” doing so.
If all 17% do so, Bitwise claims this would more than double the number of advisors allocating crypto, bringing adoption to over one in every five advisors.
When asked what their primary motivation was, 54% of advisors who answered the survey said “unrelated returns.” According to Bitwise, this finding was in line with last year’s survey results.
In comparison, “inflation hedging” was the response that saw the biggest percentage increase between 2020 and 2019. Last year, inflation hedging was highlighted by 25% of advisors, as opposed to just 9% in 2019.
The survey also shows 81% of financial advisors were asked questions about crypto from their clients in 2020. This is up from 76% in 2019.
Bullish on Bitcoin
Financial advisors are also becoming increasingly optimistic about the price of Bitcoin.
According to the survey, 15% expect the price of Bitcoin to exceed $100,000 within five years. In 2019, only 4% of financial advisors were this optimistic.
In addition, the percentage of financial advisors that expected Bitcoin’s price to fall to zero halved, decreasing from 8% to 4%. But there are always going to be some skeptics, right?