75% of Fund Managers Avoid Crypto: What Does This Mean for the Market?
By 2025, cryptocurrencies have become a common tool for millions of retail investors worldwide. Many see digital assets as a means of diversifying portfolios and capturing long-term growth. However, among fund managers, the picture looks different: professional managers remain cautious and in most cases exclude crypto entirely from their strategies. A recent Bank of America survey showed that 75% of fund managers have zero allocation to cryptocurrencies. In other words, digital assets make up no part of their portfolios.
At first glance, the numbers may seem confusing: 75% plus another 9% only add up to 84%, not 100%. But this reflects the nature of such surveys. The remaining 16% consists of those who have indirect exposure to crypto (through ETFs, stocks of companies that hold BTC and ETH on their balance sheets), those who occasionally trade digital assets, or those who gave no clear answer.
Comparison with Gold
To better understand how these figures compare with traditional assets, it helps to look at gold. For decades, gold has been considered a “safe haven” and a must-have in conservative portfolios. Yet even here the numbers are telling: 41% of fund managers have no or almost no allocation to gold. On average, gold makes up just 2.2% of portfolios, rising to 4.1% among those who do hold it.
| Asset | Managers Without Allocation | Average Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrencies | ≈ 75% | Close to 0% |
| Gold | ≈ 41% | 2.2% (average) |
This table clearly shows that even well-established assets like gold occupy only modest positions in institutional portfolios. For cryptocurrencies, the situation is even more restrained: they remain largely ignored by fund managers despite rising popularity among retail investors.
What This Means for the Crypto Market
First, cryptocurrencies remain heavily underinvested. Even market leaders like Bitcoin and Ethereum have not yet become “must-have” assets for professional portfolio managers. Second, investors should not expect crypto to gain large shares in institutional portfolios anytime soon. If gold, with its impeccable reputation, averages only 2.2%, then reaching just 0.5% for cryptocurrencies would be a breakthrough.
The Pension Fund Scenario
One of the most striking examples is pension funds — the largest players in global finance. Across the 22 leading markets, they manage around $58.5 trillion. If these institutions allocated just 0.5% to Bitcoin, the market would see an inflow of about $290 billion. Almost certainly, such funds would go to BTC, as other cryptocurrencies are seen as too risky for conservative organizations.
Is that a lot? For context, in March 2021, Bank of America estimated that just $93 million of additional inflows was enough to move Bitcoin’s price by 1%. Since then, BTC has doubled in price, and the number of long-term holders has increased thanks to companies regularly adding it to their balance sheets. This suggests that an inflow of nearly $300 billion could trigger a powerful rally and establish new all-time highs.
Conclusion
The data shows that institutional investors remain extremely cautious toward cryptocurrencies. Yet even a minimal allocation of 0.5% could fundamentally transform the market. For now, retail investors retain an advantage: they can engage with crypto directly, diversify their portfolios, and move faster than institutions that are still hesitating. In this way, retail players continue to shape the market, while institutions remain a potential driver of the next major growth wave.