Institutions Held Crypto Through a 50% Drop, New Bitwise Report Shows

Not one of the 15 institutions interviewed by asset manager Bitwise reduced its crypto holdings during a market decline of about 50%, and several actually bought more. The interviews took place in late March and April, while a slump that began in October 2025 was still underway. The group included endowments, foundations, public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, multi-family offices, investment consultants and public companies.

Why Institutions Would Sell Crypto

Falling prices were not on anyone’s list. Respondents said they would exit over a regulatory reversal, a credibility crisis across the industry or a broken investment thesis. Among those with exposure, allocations ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, with most sitting at 1% to 2%. Almost all used spot crypto ETFs or planned to, and some were moving away from private placements and direct custody.

Bitcoin Is the Core Institutional Holding

Every institution that owned crypto held Bitcoin, usually as its first, largest and longest held asset. Most saw it as a store of value, often next to gold.

Ether and Solana Face a “Prove It” Test

Conviction was weaker here. Several institutions said they could sell ETH or SOL within a few years if growth in stablecoins, DeFi and tokenization does not bring value to the tokens themselves. One institution holding neither had used DeFi heavily but saw no clear benefit for the tokens.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Exposure Is Shifting

A separate 13F report from CoinShares found professional investors’ US spot Bitcoin ETF exposure fell 17% in the first quarter. Hedge funds and brokerages made up about 96% of the drop, while banks added exposure.