The majority of financial advisors in the U.S. are interested in investing in crypto assets or advising clients to do so, according to a recent study by Nasdaq.
A breakdown of the responses made by advisors shows that crypto has become one of the leading investment options.
Financial advisors want a crypto spot ETF
The survey revealed that 72% of active financial advisors would likely invest their client’s assets in crypto if there were a related spot ETF product in the U.S.
Meanwhile, 86% of advisors who have already begun investing in crypto plan to increase their allocations over the next 12 months. Additionally, none of them intend to lower their crypto exposure deliberately.
On the other hand, 50% of advisors involved in crypto have already begun investing in Bitcoin futures ETFs, while 28% intend to start within the following year.Â
On average, advisors on the fence about investing in crypto said their ideal crypto allocation is 6% of a client’s total portfolio.Â
It is important to note that about 69% of these advisors would consider using an index fund for broad exposure, followed by sector-specific index funds (57%), actively managed funds (52%), individual digital assets (40%), and high-yield funds (31%).
 Nasdaq’s Head of Digital Asset Index Research, Jake Rapaport, explained that over the last ten years, the focus of a large number of advisors has been to shift their assets to index funds. He added that:Â
The vast majority of advisors we surveyed either plan to begin allocating to crypto or increase their existing allocation to crypto. As demand continues to surge, advisors will be looking for an institutional solution to the crypto question that now dominates client conversations.
SEC remains reluctant to approve a spot ETF
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has refused to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF application despite many applications over the past few years.
However, a recent CryptoSlate report revealed that the watchdog wants to expand its regulatory purview to cover crypto exchanges, which could lead to a spot ETF approval.
New note out on why we think spot bitcoin ETFs will get approved in early Summer 2023. The SEC is proposing to expand the definition of “exchange” which would bring crypto platforms under SEC reg. After that (which could take a year) look for ETFs to get green light via @JSeyff pic.twitter.com/TtFgFXrJ8h
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) March 24, 2022