Institutional investors are increasingly embracing digital assets, driven by improving sentiment and the emergence of new use cases, as indicated by a recent survey conducted by Nomura, a Tokyo-based bank, and its crypto division, Laser Digital. The study, which gathered responses from over 500 investment professionals in Japan, found that 31% of respondents now have a positive outlook on crypto for the upcoming year, marking an increase from 25% in 2024.
Meanwhile, negative sentiment has decreased, signifying a gradual shift in perception as the asset class matures. A key theme emerging from the survey is the role of crypto in diversifying investment portfolios, with 65% of respondents viewing it as a vital diversifier.
Approximately 79% of those considering investing in crypto plan to do so within the next three years, with most expecting to allocate between 2% and 5% of their portfolio to digital assets, indicating that institutions are still in the early stages of adoption. This shift is supported by evolving regulatory and policy frameworks. In Japan, policymakers have spent the past year refining crypto regulations, including discussions on classification, taxation, and investor protection. Globally, clearer rules in major markets, alongside the approval and expansion of crypto investment products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenized assets, have reduced some of the uncertainty that previously deterred institutions.
As a result, interest in crypto is expanding beyond simple price exposure, with over 60% of respondents expressing interest in staking, lending, derivatives, and tokenized assets, reflecting a growing demand for yield-generating strategies and more sophisticated portfolio construction. Stablecoins are also gaining traction, with 63% of respondents identifying potential use cases ranging from treasury management to cross-border payments and investments in tokenized securities.
However, barriers to adoption remain, including concerns over volatility, counterparty risk, and the lack of established valuation frameworks. Regulatory uncertainty, although improving, has not been entirely eliminated. Nonetheless, the survey suggests a shift in the conversation, with institutions increasingly focused on how to invest in crypto rather than debating whether to do so, indicating that digital assets are moving closer to becoming a standard component of institutional investment portfolios.