A unique and particularly captivating phenomenon in the history of finance

"Instead of investing in gold as a hedge against inflation or devaluation of your currency, bitcoin can represent an asset that people can use as an alternative."

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, on 5 July 2023

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Investors have only one word on their lips: BlackRock. Since the announcement that the world's largest asset manager ($9 trillion under management) had submitted an application for a Bitcoin ETF in the US, the financial industry has been anticipating a significant increase in institutional interest in crypto-assets, consolidating their status as a new asset class.

This late arrival of institutional investors in this sector already adopted by retail investors represents a unique and particularly captivating phenomenon in the history of finance. Traditionally, institutional giants have snapped up assets as they emerge, stabilised their prices and then offered retail investors the opportunity to gain exposure to them after several years.

The initial reluctance of institutional players to invest in bitcoin and other crypto-assets is mainly due to their novel nature and the difficulty of integrating them into existing regulatory frameworks. Although not all barriers have yet been removed, the idea of including crypto-assets in life insurance policies no longer seems as unrealistic as it did a few years ago thanks to the work of regulators and particularly in Europe.

The aim of this report is to highlight the opportunities available to institutional investors, such as CGPs, family offices, funds, private banks and insurers. It also aims to present the various products suited to their compliance requirements, as well as identifying the trusted players in this field.

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