Institutional investors and wealth managers plan to boost their allocations to digital assets, with nearly three out of four (74%) of those surveyed saying their organization will increase its level of investment in the sector in the year ahead, and nearly one in five (18%) saying they will do so dramatically, according to a recent study.

The study, by Nickel Digital Asset Management, which surveyed 200 institutional investors and wealth managers in July in the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates who collectively manage around US$3.5 trillion in assets, also finds growing confidence in the sector in the short and longer term.

Nearly nine out of 10 (87%) of those surveyed believe investment opportunities in the sector are attractive on a 12-month view with 39% saying investment opportunities are very attractive. Over five years, 92% say investment opportunities are attractive, with 39% describing them as very attractive.

Optimism about the future builds on limited expansion in the past year, the study finds. Around two out of five (38%) say their organization has increased investment in the sector in the past 12 months, with 13% dramatically increasing investment levels.

However, nearly half (49%) say they have reduced investment levels in the sector in the past 12 months. Around 7% have sold all their holdings, while 13% of those questioned have dramatically reduced investment in the digital asset sector.

“The strong performance of the digital asset sector year to date,” says Anatoly Crachilov, Nickel Digital’s CEO, “is reflected in the strengthening optimism by forward-looking allocators that the market has entered a sustainable recovery trend and offers an opportunity to engage.”