Nomura: 65% of Institutional Investors Now See Crypto as a Portfolio Essential
A new joint study by Nomura and Laser Digital finds improving institutional sentiment across the board, with regulatory clarity, ETF approvals, and new product development driving deeper and more committed engagement with digital assets.
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A new joint study by Nomura and Laser Digital finds improving institutional sentiment across the board, with regulatory clarity, ETF approvals, and new product development driving deeper and more committed engagement with digital assets.
A new survey conducted by Nomura and its digital asset subsidiary Laser Digital has found that 65% of institutional investors now regard cryptocurrency as a vital portfolio diversifier — a figure that represents a meaningful shift in sentiment from comparable surveys conducted just two years ago. The study, which surveyed pension funds, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and asset managers across Asia, Europe, and North America, points to regulatory clarity, expanded ETF product availability, and improved institutional-grade custody infrastructure as the primary drivers of the change.
Key Findings
Among the study's most significant findings: 58% of respondents who currently hold crypto allocations have increased those allocations in the past 12 months, while only 11% have reduced exposure. Bitcoin remains the dominant institutional holding, with 84% of crypto-allocated institutions reporting BTC positions, followed by ETH at 61%. A smaller but growing cohort — approximately 23% — reported holding tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) such as tokenized Treasury products including BlackRock's BUIDL.
The survey also found that concerns about market manipulation and counterparty risk have declined substantially as respondents cited improvements in regulated exchange infrastructure, proof-of-reserves requirements, and the availability of institutional-grade custody solutions as key factors in their growing comfort with the asset class.
Regulatory Clarity as a Catalyst
Institutional respondents cited the US Digital Asset Market Structure Act — passed in early 2026 — as a watershed moment that meaningfully reduced compliance uncertainty for US-based allocators. The legislation established clear jurisdictional boundaries between the SEC and CFTC for digital asset oversight and created a regulatory pathway for spot crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Several respondents indicated that the Act had directly enabled board-level approval for crypto allocation mandates that had previously been blocked by compliance departments.
European respondents pointed to MiCA's full implementation across EU member states as a comparable catalyst, citing the availability of fully MiCA-compliant custodians and trading venues as critical prerequisites for institutional participation.
The Road Ahead
Nomura's head of digital assets research noted that while the trend line is clearly positive, institutional allocation to crypto remains small relative to total portfolio size — typically 1–5% even among the most committed allocators. The report projects that this figure could rise meaningfully over the next three years as tokenized asset products mature, on-chain yield products gain regulatory recognition, and DeFi protocols develop the compliance tooling required to attract regulated capital.
The survey was conducted in March 2026 and included responses from 250 institutional investors with a combined AUM of approximately $4.8 trillion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened with Nomura?
A new joint study by Nomura and Laser Digital finds improving institutional sentiment across the board, with regulatory clarity, ETF approvals, and new product development driving deeper and more committed engagement with digital assets.
Why does this matter for DeFi?
Events like this affect the broader DeFi ecosystem by influencing market sentiment, regulatory expectations, protocol adoption, and on-chain activity. Understanding the context helps investors and users make more informed decisions about their exposure to decentralised finance protocols.
How does this affect crypto investors?
Significant DeFi developments — whether protocol upgrades, regulatory actions, or market milestones — can shift capital flows, yield opportunities, and risk profiles across the ecosystem. Staying informed through credible sources is essential for risk management in DeFi.
Where can I learn more about Institutional?
Our Institutional research section covers protocols, ecosystems, and market developments in depth. Visit the relevant protocol or ecosystem page on this site for background context, or browse the DeFi Glossary for plain-English definitions of key terms.
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