Digital Assets Demand Rising: 1 In 2 Institutions To Increase Holdings Within A Year

According to State Street’s 2025 global research, big investors are moving past trial runs and making clear bets on digital assets and blockchain.

Nearly 60% of surveyed institutional investors say they plan to raise their crypto allocation in the next year. Average exposure is expected to double within three years, signaling firm plans rather than idle talk.

Reports have disclosed that private markets are the first target. Private equity and private fixed income topped the list for tokenization, as firms look to open up illiquid holdings and make them easier to trade.

By 2030, a majority of respondents expect between 10–24% of institutional investments to be made through tokenized instruments. That is a big change from pilots and proofs of concept.

Our 2025 global research on #digitalassets and emerging technologies reveals a decisive shift in adoption and strategic commitment among institutional investors toward #tokenization and blockchain-enabled transformation. Read more: https://t.co/hzk1f3dZ1O pic.twitter.com/tULwI2Ke88

— State Street (@StateStreet) October 9, 2025

Investors gave clear reasons for the push. Increased transparency was named by 52% as a key benefit. Faster trading was picked by 39%, and lower compliance costs by 32%.

Almost half of those surveyed said they expect cost savings of more than 40% thanks to better transparency. Those figures help explain why more firms are making moves now instead of waiting.

Based on reports, the shift is not only about portfolios. Forty percent of respondents already have a dedicated digital assets team or business unit. Nearly a third said blockchain and related digital operations are now part of their wider digital plans.

Joerg Ambrosius, president of Investment Services at State Street, said institutional clients are treating these tools as strategic levers for growth and efficiency, not just experiments.

Donna Milrod, chief product officer at State Street, added that firms are building teams and planning new products such as tokenized bonds, on-chain wrappers, stablecoins and tokenized cash.

One in five firms plan to set up new digital asset groups in the near term. That suggests organizational change will follow the capital commitments. Many managers are rewriting workflows and adding staff with blockchain skills.

At the same time, more than half of respondents said generative AI and quantum computing might have a bigger impact on investment operations than tokenization alone, though most see these technologies as working together rather than replacing each other.

The survey covered senior executives across regions and different institution sizes, and it looked at both strategy and operational readiness.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView