Goldman Sachs survey shows Asian hedge funds really don't like bitcoin

Published Mon, Jun 7 202112:56 PM EDTUpdated Tue, Jun 8 20214:58 AM EDT

Asian hedge funds may not be as bullish on bitcoin compared to their peers in the U.S., according to a Goldman Sachs report issued over the weekend. Less than a percent of chief investment officers indicated bitcoin is their favorite investment asset class, while about 35% indicated the digital currency is their least favorite asset class, the bank found. About 55% of the participants indicated they favor growth assets and just 5% identified growth assets as their least favorite. The sample size is small – Goldman polled 25 chief investment officers from different long-only and hedge funds last week. Like in the U.S. , the legal status around bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies still lacks clarity in the Asian markets , and institutional investors there may be hesitant to take a position in bitcoin until regulators introduce a framework for it. The chief investment officers indicated they're most bullish on China A-shares — that is, the stock shares of mainland China-based companies that trade the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. They are also bullish on the Nikkei 225, the index of Japan's top blue-chip companies that trade on the on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. A growing appetite Cryptocurrency developments in the traditional finance world indicate that the appetite for bitcoin and other digital assets is growing , and institutions are just waiting for a green light from regulators to be able to serve them. For example, earlier this year BNY Mellon, the world's largest custodian bank, said it would offer bitcoin services , which would allow the asset managers it serves to store and move the digital asset through BNY Mellon. Institutional investors drove much of the recent bitcoin bull run, which pushed the price up to new all-time highs throughout the first quarter of this year before dipping again last month and hovering around $35,000 since. In the U.S., many see a bitcoin exchange-traded fund as the big catalyst for adoption among institutional investors. Last month, however, the Securities and Exchange Commission released comments implying it's unlikely to approve a bitcoin ETF this year. In the meantime, major investment banks have sought to respond to wealthy clients' demands for cryptocurrency. For instance, earlier this spring, Morgan Stanley told its advisors it would offer wealth management clients access to three funds that enable ownership of bitcoin.

In this photo illustration, the Bitcoin logo is seen on a mobile device with People's Republic of China flag in the background. (Photo Illustration by t/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

Asian hedge funds may not be as bullish on bitcoin compared to their peers in the U.S., according to a Goldman Sachs report issued over the weekend.

Less than a percent of chief investment officers indicated bitcoin is their favorite investment asset class, while about 35% indicated the digital currency is their least favorite asset class, the bank found.

About 55% of the participants indicated they favor growth assets and just 5% identified growth assets as their least favorite.