A CoinShares survey of 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in assets across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland found that most affluent investors already own digital assets and intend to expand their exposure this year. Ownership rates varied from 54% in Sweden to roughly 70% in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, with crypto representing about 10% of their portfolios on average. In five of the seven countries, at least 85% of current crypto investors said they planned to increase their holdings in 2026. About four in ten respondents in Switzerland, France, the United States and Germany who worked with a financial adviser described their adviser as overly cautious about digital assets.

The survey comes as capital continues to flow into crypto despite a challenging market environment. Bitcoin is attempting to build on its best quarter since 2017, while Treasury yields remain above 5%, creating headwinds for risk assets. Bitcoin briefly rose above $87,000 last week before slipping below $83,000 on Wednesday. Analysts note that elevated Treasury yields, driven by multi‑decade high rates, pose a real obstacle for further price gains, even as some argue that a "debasement trade" favoring scarce assets such as Bitcoin and gold does not rely on low interest rates.

At the same time, crypto‑focused firms are expanding their financial footprints. OKX announced an extension of its funding round at a $25 billion valuation, adding undisclosed capital from existing partners including Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures, Qube Research & Technologies, Ripple and Circle. The extension follows a $200 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange earlier in the year. OKX is also pursuing a joint venture with ICE to launch a tokenized stock trading platform under the agency’s new innovation exemption, a move that could bring traditional securities into the crypto ecosystem.

Strategy, the corporate treasury of the software firm formerly known as MicroStrategy, allocated more than six times as much capital to repurchasing its preferred stock (STRC) as it did to buying Bitcoin in the most recent week. The company spent $176.3 million to acquire 1.77 million STRC shares, compared with $28.7 million spent on 334 Bitcoin, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to exactly 848,000 BTC. Strategy also filed a proxy proposal to pay dividends daily on four of its preferred‑stock classes, a change that would alter dividend timing but not the overall payment obligations.

Views on the appropriate size of crypto allocations differ. Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals, questioned the survey’s figure that crypto accounts for 10% of the average portfolio, citing his own research that suggests typical allocations range from 2% to 5%. He recommends larger allocations of 10% to 40% depending on an investor’s risk tolerance. The survey’s findings highlight a growing gap between the investment behavior of wealthy individuals and the more conservative stance of many financial advisers.