Institutions View Bitcoin Like Gold, But Still Treat It Like Tech

Institutional investors increasingly view Bitcoin (BTC) as a digital counterpart to gold, but their actions do not align with this perception.

A new Bitwise research study based on interviews with senior allocators at 15 major institutions found that every institution holding crypto owned BTC, and for nearly all of them it was the first, largest, and longest-held digital asset.

These investors frame Bitcoin as a store of value with asymmetric upside and often pair it with gold as a hedge against currency debasement. However, they continue to group Bitcoin with other digital assets rather than treating it as a standalone commodity allocation.

The study revealed that allocations typically sit between 1% and 2% of investable assets, with a reported range from 0.5% to 13%. Positions are spread across spot exchange-traded funds, direct holdings, venture investments, and hedge funds.