Institutions held crypto through 50% drawdown, Bitwise finds

None of the 15 institutions interviewed by asset manager Bitwise cut their crypto allocations during a roughly 50% market drawdown, while several bought more.

Every institution in the group that owned crypto held Bitcoin (BTC), usually as its largest and longest-held position, while Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) were smaller bets with shorter investment horizons and conditions for selling.

Bitwise’s Institutional Crypto Adoption Report draws on interviews conducted in late March and April amid a market decline that began in October 2025. The interviews included investment professionals at endowments, foundations, public pensions, sovereign wealth funds, multi-family offices, investment consultants and public companies.

When asked what could prompt them to sell, none of the institutions cited falling prices. Instead, respondents pointed to a regulatory reversal, an industry-wide credibility crisis or a failure of their investment thesis.

Some said they would sell Ether or Solana if growth in network use failed to benefit the tokens.

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Crypto allocations among those with exposure ranged from 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, though most were between 1% and 2%. Bitwise said almost every institution interviewed either used spot crypto exchange-traded funds or planned to, with some investors shifting from private placements or direct custody toward ETFs.