Asia’s Elite Ditch Dollars for Crypto, Gold, and China—UBS Reports

Rich investors across Asia are pivoting hard from the US dollar—flocking to Bitcoin, gold, and Chinese assets instead. UBS data confirms the trend: old-money fears meet new-world bets.

Why? Dollar fatigue, crypto’s institutional embrace, and China’s creeping financial dominance. Plus, let’s be honest—nothing terrifies legacy banks like watching clients actually diversify.

Gold glitters, digital assets disrupt, and Beijing smiles. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s ’stable’ greenback? Looking increasingly like a relic.

Hong Kong Stock Market Index. Source: Trading Economics

Bank of America’s latest fund manager survey also shows that global fund managers significantly reduced their exposure to the US dollar in May, marking the largest underweight position in 19 years.

US-China tariff truce sparks investor optimism

Christina Au-Yeung, head of Investment Management Services at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Asia, told Bloomberg that a recent tariff truce between the US and China has created renewed investor optimism.

“We are seeing an emergence of really interesting themes coming back out in China,” she said.

Au-Yeung also pointed to a growing risk-aware mindset among Asia’s wealthiest clients. The firm now recommends a balanced portfolio allocation, including 40% fixed income, 40% equities, 15% alternatives and the remainder in cash or equivalents.

On May 11, the US and China announced an agreement to temporarily reduce tariffs on each other’s goods. As per the deal, the US will lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce duties on American goods from 125% to 10%.

Bitcoin viewed as a store of value

In a recent note, Galaxy Digital analysts said Bitcoin is increasingly being viewed as a digital store of value, noting growing interest from institutions, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and even governments.

“Bitcoin’s supply and demand dynamics are solidifying its place as a mature digital store of value,” said Ian Kolman, co-portfolio manager at Galaxy.

Supporting this view, BlackRock’s head of thematics and active ETFs, Jay Jacobs, noted on April 25 that nations are increasingly diversifying away from US dollar reserves, turning instead to assets like gold — and now, bitcoin (BTC $103,705) — as part of a broader shift in reserve strategy.