Fifteen institutions kept crypto through a 50% drawdown, Bitwise survey finds
Bitwise interviewed 15 institutional allocators: none cut crypto through a 50% drawdown from October 2025 to April 2026, several bought more, and most allocations were 1% to 2% of assets.
Why it matters
The allocators Bitwise interviewed treated falling prices as a reason to hold or add rather than to sell, and Bitwise expects a majority of institutional investors to hold crypto within five years, which speaks to the demand side for bitcoin. The evidence is limited in two ways: the firm named none of the 15 institutions, and CoinDesk puts the drawdown those allocators held through at about 55% against Bitwise's roughly 50%, so neither the participants nor the exact size of the decline can be checked.
Where the sources disagree
Size of the market decline that institutions held crypto through
roughly 50% decline from October 2025 to April 2026
Crypto.News, Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Magazine, Bitcoin.com News
about 55% from the October 2025 peak
CoinDesk
Bitwise and the outlets covering it describe a roughly 50% drop between October 2025 and April 2026, while CoinDesk reports Bitcoin fell about 55% from its October 2025 peak.
Lower bound of institutional crypto allocations
0.5% to 13% of investable assets
Cointelegraph
most at 1% to 2%, full range up to 13%
Crypto.News
Cointelegraph gives the range as 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, while Crypto.News only reports the 1% to 2% band for most respondents and a 13% top end.
Whether all or most crypto-owning institutions hold Bitcoin
every crypto-owning institution interviewed held Bitcoin
Cointelegraph, Crypto.News, Bitcoin Magazine
most institutions that own crypto hold Bitcoin as a standalone position, with 'most' undefined
Bitcoin.com News
Cointelegraph and Crypto.News say every institution that owned crypto held Bitcoin, while Bitcoin.com News says most institutions that own crypto hold Bitcoin as a standalone position and notes the report never defines 'most'.
Key facts
None of the 15 institutions cut its crypto allocation during the market decline between October 2025 and April 2026, which Bitwise described as roughly 50%, and several increased their positions.
50 %Disputed figureReported by Crypto.News
Every institution in the study that owned crypto held Bitcoin, usually as its first, largest and longest-held position.
Disputed figureReported by Crypto.News
Cointelegraph reported crypto allocations ranging from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets with most between 1% and 2%, while Crypto.News reported most allocations between 1% and 2% with the full range reaching 13%.
13 %Disputed figureReported by Cointelegraph
No interviewee said a falling price would make it sell; respondents cited a regulatory reversal, an industry-wide credibility crisis or a failure of the investment thesis, and some would sell Ether or Solana if network growth did not benefit the tokens.
Reported by Cointelegraph
Bitcoin.com News reported that institutions pair Bitcoin with gold as a fiat-debasement hedge yet still hold it in a technology bucket alongside other crypto assets, and that the report does not say how many respondents 'most' covers or how often they pair the two.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
Almost every institution interviewed already uses or plans to use spot crypto ETFs, citing lower cost and lower operational burden.
Reported by Crypto.News
Several investors without positions were in advanced due diligence and multiple sovereign wealth funds were examining sizable positions, with one sovereign investor telling Bitwise that building the legal and regulatory infrastructure for an allocation could take more than a year.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
What happened
Bitwise Asset Management published its first Institutional Crypto Adoption report on Sept. 23, drawing on 30- to 60-minute interviews it ran between late March and April 2026 with the people responsible for crypto allocation at 15 institutions, including endowments, foundations, public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, multi-family offices, investment consultants and public companies, and it measured market figures as of April 30. None of the 15 reduced its crypto allocation during a roughly 50% market decline from October 2025 to April 2026, and several added to their positions, a finding Cointelegraph, Bitcoin Magazine, Bitcoin.com News and Crypto.News all reported. Every institution in the group that owned crypto held Bitcoin, usually as its first, largest and longest-held position, while Ether and Solana were held in smaller amounts with set exit conditions; no respondent named a falling price as a reason to sell, citing instead a regulatory reversal, an industry-wide credibility crisis or a failure of the investment thesis, and almost every respondent already uses or plans to use spot crypto ETFs, pointing to lower cost and lighter operational burden. Cointelegraph put allocation sizes at 0.5% to 13% of investable assets with most between 1% and 2%, while Crypto.News said most sat between 1% and 2% and the full range topped out at 13%. Bitcoin.com News reported that institutions pair Bitcoin with gold as a fiat-debasement hedge while still booking it in a technology bucket, and noted that the report never says how many respondents 'most' covers; Bitcoin Magazine described one endowment treating Bitcoin as a bet on a $20 trillion market within five to 15 years, one institution filing Bitcoin in its gold bucket and one sovereign wealth fund funding crypto by selling gold and foreign exchange reserves. Several investors who hold nothing yet were in advanced due diligence and multiple sovereign wealth funds were weighing sizable positions, one sovereign investor telling Bitwise that legal and regulatory groundwork could take more than a year, while CoinDesk, writing about the same sell-off, put Bitcoin's fall at about 55% from its October 2025 peak and quoted Bitwise's Ryan Rasmussen and Risk Dimensions' Mark Connors saying institutional investors and rebalancing may temper both crashes and rallies.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Crypto.News
Kazakhstan crypto trading turnover surged past $10 billion in 2025
- Update
Bitwise publishes its first Institutional Crypto Adoption report
The report covers 15 institutional allocators interviewed between late March and April 2026, with market figures measured as of April 30.
- Update
Cointelegraph reports that none of the 15 cut allocations and several bought more
Same day the report circulated, Cointelegraph described the sell-off as a roughly 50% drawdown that began in October 2025.
- Update
CoinDesk puts the same drawdown at about 55% and quotes Bitwise on volatility
CoinDesk's separate coverage says Bitcoin fell roughly 55% from its October 2025 peak and quotes Bitwise's Ryan Rasmussen and Risk Dimensions' Mark Connors on institutions and rebalancing tempering swings.
- Update
Bitcoin Magazine details the gold pairing and a $20 trillion market bet
The report says several endowments built gold and Bitcoin positions side by side, one institution files Bitcoin in its gold bucket, and one sovereign wealth fund funds crypto partly by selling gold and foreign exchange reserves.
- Independent corroboration
Independently corroborated by Cointelegraph
Institutions held crypto through 50% drawdown, Bitwise finds
- Update
Bitcoin.com News flags that the report leaves 'most' undefined
Bitcoin.com News says most respondents frame Bitcoin as a store of value paired with gold while still holding it in a technology bucket, and that the report gives no count behind 'most' or 'often'.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Institutions See Bitcoin Like Gold but Invest in It Like Tech: Bitwise
- Update
Prospective buyers emerge as a second strand of the report
Bitcoin.com News reports that several investors without positions were in advanced due diligence, that multiple sovereign wealth funds were examining sizable positions, and that Bitwise expects a majority of institutional investors to hold crypto within five years.
- Correction
Correction published by CryptoPotato
Bitcoin’s (BTC) Still in a Bull Market, But a Correction Could Be Coming First
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 22 Sept 2026, 09:49 UTC: Crypto.News — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 23 Sept 2026, 15:01 UTC: Blockchain.News — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 09:18 UTC: Cointelegraph — 3 independent sources, 4 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 09:27 UTC: Bitcoin Insider — 4 independent sources, 5 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 15:26 UTC: CoinDesk — 5 independent sources, 6 reports
- 24 Sept 2026, 18:03 UTC: Bitcoin Magazine — 6 independent sources, 7 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 02:50 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 7 independent sources, 8 reports
- 25 Sept 2026, 10:12 UTC: CoinGape — 8 independent sources, 9 reports
- 26 Sept 2026, 12:30 UTC: Bitcoinist — 9 independent sources, 12 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 13:45 UTC: Crypto News Flash — 10 independent sources, 20 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: Base, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, United States, Coinbase, Donald Trump, Hyperliquid, BlackRock
Original sources
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