Sygnum Digital Bank’s Future Finance Report 2025, which surveyed 1000 professional and institutional investors from 40+ countries in Q3, found that 82% of respondents would prefer crypto exposure through their existing advisor if offered via a regulated partner. As per the report, most expect their advisors to take the lead in identifying credible crypto services in order to make sure that any exposure fits within regulatory boundaries.
HNWIs ( High Net worth Wealthy Individuals) formed the largest cohort in this year’s survey, overwhelming 90 percent of HNWIs agreed that crypto assets are
important for wealth preservation and legacy planning, with more than half strongly agreeing.
More importantly HNWIs place the highest importance on dedicated advisory services, with custody and security assurances almost
on the same level, and more than half asking for seamless reporting alongside traditional assets.
In short according to the survey HNWIs want crypto to be handled by their trusted advisors including reporting, and integrations within their long terms wealth architectures, be it properties, trusts or inheritance plans.
Sygnum notes that onboarding this group would mean that private banks and wealth managers would have to convince them that crypto as an investable asset class can function inside the same frameworks that already manage their wealth.
Further more 83 percent of respondents agree that crypto assets will play an important role in the future global financial industry compared with 82 percent for stablecoins.
In a 2-3 year outlook the sentiment is decisively bullish even more so after 5 years, with the majority of the respondents expecting a new bull cycle supported by deeper integration with traditional market and greater institutional participation.
Bitcoin as a reserve currency
81% of respondents agree that Bitcoin is a viable reserve asset, with 19% hesitant or disagree. 71% believe that cash would carry greater risk, while 10% firmly opposed and 20% were neutral.
Solana leads the interest in crypto ETFs
In terms of crypto ETFs, the report notes that Solana leads in terms of interest, followed by multi asset index or crypto baskets, then Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and others.
When it comes to which traditional assets would be of interest if tokenized, 33% of venture capital were open to applying tokenization to private markets, while government bonds at 30% showed a modest interest to more efficient access to sovereign debt.
The Sygnum report has similar findings to at Avaloq wealth insights 2025 report, which was built on two surveys carried out earlier in 2025, in February and March with over 3,851 investors from 15 markets including the UAE. They report found that 39% of UAE investors hold crypto, surpassing the global average of 30%. UAE crypt investors usage of crypto exchanges was also higher than the world average, yet for those not yet invested in crypto, they would rather work with their traditional providers, banks and wealth managers rather than crypto exchanges.
The survey noted that 93% of UAE crypto investors engage in crypto exchange platforms compared to 86% globally. For those who haven’t invested in crypto yet, 51% said they would consider investing if offered by their traditional provider. As per the report, this is an opportunity for UAE wealth managers.
