Crypto Confidence Soars: 84% of GPs and LPs Bullish on Market Future

Wall Street's crypto skeptics might want to check the pulse of institutional investors—84% of general and limited partners are now betting big on digital assets.

The optimism epidemic

Forget the naysayers. While traditional finance still clutches its pearls over volatility, the smart money's stacking satoshis. Survey data reveals three-quarters of investment pros see greener pastures ahead—despite regulators playing whack-a-mole with compliance frameworks.

When the whales move

Pension funds and endowments aren't just dipping toes anymore—they're doing cannonballs into DeFi pools. The 84% bullish figure suggests what cynics call a 'speculative bubble' might just be Wall Street's FOMO catching up to blockchain's disruptive reality.

One hedge fund manager quipped: 'Turns out yield beats yelling about tulips.'

In a similar vein, a whopping 85% of respondents said that they’re looking to invest in crypto this year, many of whom — 61% — noted that it’s thanks to the regulatory clarity. Woo-hoo!

But both the market growth and the innovative investment products offered are big draws for them as well. 

Here’s a chart comparing 2024’s responses to 2025’s, just in case you need to see the year-over-year change for yourself. I know we’ve become slightly desensitized to the growth that this industry’s experienced in the last year, but these numbers are pretty wild. 

This gives you a better idea of what’s driving investments. Outside the top three motivators, institutional adoption is relatively high, which is understandable, given that general economic conditions are not as significant a driver. 

Unfortunately, there’s not a clear reason given as to why investment professionals don’t see economic conditions as a big factor driving interest here. However, across the larger landscape, “nearly 75% of respondents say that the current economic outlook presents an investment opportunity.”

I’m going to put on my guessing hat here and say that I think this is probably tied to the fact that crypto has not proven that it’s a safe haven play in times of market uncertainty. If you need a solid example, take a look at the leg down Bitcoin took in February after we started receiving the tariff headlines. 

Mind you, that’s not to say that bitcoin hasn’t shown its resilience, especially since, according to Coinbase, it’s up 81% at the time I’m writing this newsletter. 

If we zoom out, Barnes & Thornburg noted that the survey finds “ample room for optimism” across a number of sectors — from crypto to hedge funds. All of this is based on survey data collected in April and March from investment professionals, including GPs and LPs. 

All in all, I think the data shows a pretty decent appetite for crypto, especially since a lot of the momentum for the industry is tied to regulatory clarity and the overall crypto market growth. Those are both big positives for the space.

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