CoinShares' October 2026 Digital Asset Fund Managers Survey shows institutional investors modestly increasing their cryptocurrency allocations, even as Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies have experienced sharp declines in recent days. As a survey of reported positions and motivations, it captures a dimension of institutional behavior that price charts do not show on their own.

Bitcoin ($BTC) has fallen to approximately $73,000, while Ethereum, the largest altcoin, has struggled to hold above $2,000. Market commentators have flagged further downside risks for Bitcoin and the broader altcoin market, making the survey findings particularly noteworthy. Against that backdrop, the survey's findings offer a data point on how allocators described their positioning while prices were under pressure.

The survey was conducted by CoinShares Research Director James Butterfill and included 28 investors who together manage approximately $642 billion in assets. The direct comparison with July's figures, together with motivation trends tracked since 2021, makes the survey a recurring reference point for how institutional allocations evolve between editions.

Crypto Share of Institutional Portfolios Edges Higher

According to the survey, the average share of cryptocurrencies in investors' portfolios rose from 1.2 percent in July to 1.3 percent. The research indicates that investors are moving away from portfolios heavily weighted toward stocks and bonds, turning instead to alternative investment instruments such as commodities and cryptocurrencies. A preference for alternative assets over cash was highlighted as a notable aspect of this shift. Even after the increase, the crypto weighting remains a small slice of participants' overall portfolios, in line with the survey's characterization of the change as modest.

Diversification Overtakes Speculation

One of the most striking results of the survey was a shift in the motivation behind cryptocurrency investments. Portfolio diversification rose to first place, accounting for 40% of investment justifications. Diversification has been on an upward trend since 2021, while speculation dropped to fifth place with a share below 9%. At the same time, investors' tendency to view cryptocurrencies as a valuable investment opportunity increased, while the influence of customer demand decreased. That ordering — diversification first, speculation fifth — is one of the clearest signals in the survey about how respondents frame their digital asset exposure.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Retain Core Positions

According to the survey, Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to hold their core positions in portfolio preferences. Bitcoin ($BTC) remained the most preferred asset in terms of growth expectations, and together with Ethereum it represented 47% of participants' assets. That concentration is a notable detail alongside the diversification-first motivations above: nearly half of participants' assets remain in two assets even as diversification leads the stated justifications.

Altcoin preferences shifted toward Sui, NEAR, Aave, Hyperliquid, Uniswap, and Chainlink, while Ethereum and Solana showed a slightly improved outlook. Together, these figures give readers a baseline from the October edition, against which the next survey's allocation share, motivation rankings, and asset preferences can be compared.

The survey results were published by CoinShares and covered by BitcoinSistemi.

This is not investment advice.