The number of family offices optimistic about crypto has more than doubled from 8% to 17% this year, with direct exposure their preferred form of investing, according to Citi’s “Global Family Office 2024 Survey Report” published on September 20.
The report indicates that interest in digital assets continues to increase from a low base. Both large and small family offices – those with less and more than $500 million in assets under management, respectively – showed similar interest in digital assets, with direct crypto and crypto-linked investment funds being top priorities.
About a quarter of respondents had already invested or planned to invest in digital assets, with 17% categorized as early adopters and 10% as ‘digital asset curious’.
Interestingly, most early adopters seem to be experimenting with crypto, as 15% of them spend less than 5% of their portfolio on crypto.
Family offices prefer direct exposure
Family offices still prefer direct exposure to crypto, with 24% of entities surveyed investing directly in digital assets. Meanwhile, 18% of family offices reported exposure through exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Large family offices are more interested in tokenized real-world assets (RWA) than their smaller counterparts, with 11% of large entities reporting exposure to crypto, compared to 3% for the latter.
On the other hand, small family offices have a greater interest in derivatives: 8% have exposure to these products, compared to 3% of larger entities.
Furthermore, despite comparable exposure through stablecoins, the number of small family offices exposed to non-fungible tokens (NFT) is four times higher than larger companies.
Asia-Pacific leads in interest
The report also highlighted that family offices still lack proper education about crypto, as two-thirds of participants still haven’t decided which digital asset product to explore.
Asia Pacific led the way in digital asset adoption, with 37% of family offices investing or interested in investing in digital assets. One in twenty family offices in the region reported more than 10% of investable assets in digital assets.
Meanwhile, Latin American family offices showed the least interest, with 83% not prioritizing a digital asset allocation.
While the overall trend shows increased interest, the report also noted that the percentage of those planning to increase their allocations, minus those planning to decrease, was negative (-11%) for digital assets. This means there is more interest in reducing exposure than increasing it, despite the bullish sentiment in the market.
Furthermore, the Citi report highlights that crypto is not a priority for a significant majority (73%) of family offices surveyed.