Wealthy investors are moving faster into cryptocurrency than their financial advisers, according to a new CoinShares survey of high-net-worth individuals across seven major economies.
The survey covered 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. A majority now hold digital assets, with crypto accounting for about 10% of their portfolios on average. Ownership ranged from 54% in Sweden to roughly 70% in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland.
In five of the seven countries surveyed, at least 85% of existing crypto investors said they planned to increase their exposure in 2026. However, about four in 10 respondents in Switzerland, France, the US and Germany who work with financial advisers described them as overly cautious about digital assets.
Bitcoin Posts Best Quarter Since 2017
Bitcoin posted its best third quarter since 2017, gaining 43% during the period and recording three consecutive weekly advances. However, the rally faces headwinds from Treasury yields above 5%, which offer investors an increasingly attractive alternative to risk assets.
Bitcoin briefly climbed above $87,000 last week before pulling back to below $83,000. The Federal Reserve's September rate hike and multi-decade highs in Treasury yields present real resistance to further gains, according to analysts at Delphi Digital.
The outlook for interest rates has shifted since then. September payrolls showed just 29,000 jobs added, well below forecasts of 80,000, lowering expectations for an October rate hike. New York Fed President John Williams said there was no urgency to raise rates again.
OKX Raises Funding at $25 Billion Valuation
OKX extended a funding round at a $25 billion valuation, with participation from existing partners including Standard Chartered's SC Ventures, Qube Research & Technologies, Ripple and Circle. The extension followed a $200 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange in March.
The funding comes as OKX expands into traditional financial markets. An OKX-ICE joint venture filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a tokenized stock trading platform under the agency's new innovation exemption.
Strategy Prioritizes Stock Buybacks Over Bitcoin
Strategy spent $176.3 million repurchasing 1.77 million STRC shares last week, more than six times the $28.7 million it spent buying 334 Bitcoin. The purchases brought Strategy's Bitcoin holdings to exactly 848,000 BTC.
Bitcoin accumulation has slowed considerably, rising just 0.2% in the third quarter. Strategy purchased 7,218 BTC during the quarter but offset those gains by selling 5,553 BTC.
Strategy also filed a proxy seeking shareholder approval to pay dividends daily on four share classes, with voting scheduled for October 28. Daily STRC dividends would begin in November if approved, followed by other share classes in January.
