Survey: Majority of Institutional Investors Bullish on Crypto for Next 12 Months

A recent survey conducted by Binance Research, the research arm of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, reveals that institutional investors are displaying a positive outlook towards cryptocurrencies in the coming year. The survey, titled "Institutional Crypto Outlook Survey," gathered responses from 208 global institutional clients and VIP users between March 31 and May 15, 2023. It aimed to gauge their attitudes, preferences, motivations, and adoption of crypto investments.

The survey participants consisted of a diverse group of institutional investors with varying levels of experience and assets under management (AUM). More than 48% of respondents reported having over five years of experience in crypto investing. Funds with crypto AUM below $25 million constituted 52.4% of the participants, while those with AUM above $100 million accounted for 22.6%.

In terms of outlook, 63.5% of respondents expressed optimism about the crypto sector in the next 12 months. When the timeframe was extended to a decade, a significant 88% of participants indicated a positive outlook for crypto. It is noteworthy that nearly half of the respondents maintained their crypto holdings over the past year, with 35.6% increasing their holdings during the same period. Additionally, about half of the participants anticipate increasing their crypto assets over time, while a small 4.3% plan to decrease their holdings in the next year.

When it came to investment interests, investors showed a strong focus on layer-1 and layer-2 sectors, as well as infrastructure. Approximately 54% of respondents considered infrastructure to be the most important aspect for themselves or their funds, followed by layer-1 and layer-2 sectors at 48.1% and 43.8% respectively. The survey also revealed that decentralized applications (dApps) were the most widely used in recent months.

The survey respondents also expressed their belief that real-world use cases and regulatory clarity would be key drivers for crypto adoption. Roughly 27% of participants demanded more real-world use cases, while 25.3% highlighted the need for regulatory clarity. Moreover, increased institutional participation through banks and other financial institutions was identified as another catalyst for wider crypto adoption, along with the importance of stronger security measures such as fraud detection and custody solutions.

"The results highlight institutional investors' belief in broad ecosystem developments rather than short-term price action in driving widespread crypto adoption," stated the report.