CoinShares Survey Finds 52% of UK Advisers Unaware of Over Half Client Crypto Holdings

A CoinShares survey released June 25, 2026 found that one in four European wealth advisers (25%) report a “management gap” in which the larger part of clients’ digital asset exposure sits outside their oversight and is “unmonitored and invisible to the advisory relationship.”

“A new survey from CoinShares has revealed a significant blind spot in the UK’s asset management industry: 52% of respondents in the United Kingdom believe their advisory firms are unaware of more than half of their clients’ cryptocurrency holdings”

Bitcoin World

The same survey said the gap is most pronounced in the United Kingdom, where 52% of advisers believe their firms are unaware of more than half of their clients’ cryptocurrency holdings.

Bitcoin World

CoinShares described the issue as a structural problem in which clients are already invested in digital assets, while a large share of advisers cannot see that exposure within the advisory relationship.

The survey’s five markets were France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and it was conducted through Citywire Engage among 261 European wealth management professionals.

CoinShares said the management gap’s primary driver is firm policy, with 61% of advisers working in firms that either explicitly restrict digital assets or provide no clear internal guidance, which the report calls “blocked firms.”

The survey also linked adviser behavior to policy support, saying that active recommendation falls from supportive to restrictive policy levels, and that in firms with supportive digital asset policies “nearly half” of advisers actively recommend crypto-related investments.

Cointelegraph

CoinShares contrasted that with restrictive policies, where the figure drops to just 1%, and it tied the knowledge gap to institutional choices by noting that more than three quarters of advisers who feel insufficiently informed work in blocked firms.

In its CEO statement, CoinShares co-founder Jean-Marie Mognetti said, “This is not a knowledge problem. It is not a demand problem. It is a firm-policy problem becoming a wrong-way risk.”

CoinShares said advisers pointed to regulatory clarity and investment products when asked what would increase their confidence in recommending digital assets, with 45% citing official regulatory recognition of digital assets as a mainstream asset class and 43% highlighting access to exchange-traded products (ETPs).

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The survey also framed the issue as a threat to the advisory relationship itself, with Mognetti warning that “Every month a firm remains silent, more of its clients' wealth migrates beyond its advice, its visibility and ultimately its economics.”

CoinShares noted that Europe is moving closer to a unified digital asset framework through the implementation of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, and it highlighted ongoing discussions in France about crypto eligibility within UCITS funds.

In the United Kingdom, CoinShares pointed to proposals that could allow authorized funds to allocate up to 10% of assets to crypto ETPs, while the survey’s central message remained that visibility comes before advice and risk management.