About a third, or 32%, of financial advisors will have invested in cryptocurrencies in their client accounts by 2025, up from 22% in 2024, according to a new study.
A growing number of financial advisors appear to be investing more of their clients’ assets in high-risk digital currencies, but Merrill Lynch, one of the industry’s leading brokerage and wealth management businesses, is sounding the alarm about such assets.
This is the financial advice industry’s two-pronged approach to solving the crypto investment puzzle. This means satisfying customers who want to invest in digital assets, allowing companies to stick to those assets, and managing investors’ exposure to high-risk asset classes in line with traditional industry-standard care practices.
Demand for digital assets from individual investors is likely to continue to increase. According to Bitwise/VettaFi’s 2026 Benchmark Survey on Financial Advisor Attitudes toward Cryptoassets, in 2025, nearly one-third of financial advisors, or 32%, invested in cryptocurrencies in their client accounts, up from 22% in 2024.
This was the highest allocation in the eight-year history of the survey, which included responses from 299 financial advisors from a variety of business and employment models.
According to the survey, more professional advisors own cryptocurrencies than ever before, with 56% of advisors reporting having cryptocurrencies in their personal portfolios, marking the highest level of ownership since the survey began in 2018.
And access to institutions is increasing. According to the survey, 42% of advisors say they can purchase cryptocurrencies in their client accounts, up from 35% in 2024 and 19% in 2023.
That’s not surprising.
Leading financial advisory firms continue to expand access for clients to include crypto assets in their portfolios.
Last month, Bank of America announced it would approve advisor-approved 1% to 4% allocations to certain digital assets starting early next year for clients of its Merrill, Bank of America Private Bank, and Merrill Edge platforms.
Previously, eligible Bank of America customers could purchase company-approved cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. What is new is that bank advisors can recommend products.
Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch issued a warning this month to advisors and clients considering buying or investing in digital assets, according to new disclosures from the company.
According to the most recent wrap fee program brochure on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for Merrill Lynch’s investment advisory program, it states: “The risks associated with investing in crypto assets are significant.” “Cryptoassets are highly speculative and have only existed for a short time.”
According to the SEC filing, “a significant portion of the demand for crypto assets is driven by speculators and investors seeking to profit from short-term holdings.” “Given the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies, media headlines, tweets, or influencer opinions can have a significant impact on performance.”
“Historical prices for crypto assets have been highly volatile,” according to the filing. “The price of cryptoassets can fall quickly, and investors could lose their entire investment in a short period of time. Some cryptoassets have concentrated ownership or many large holders, who can cause unexpected price declines by selling or transferring their holdings without warning.”
