Crypto fund management company Bitwise interviewed 15 large investment institutions between the end of March and April 2026. During the period from October 2025 to April 2026, when the market fell by about 50%, not a single institution reduced its crypto holdings, and some even added to their positions.
The institutions interviewed included university endowments, pension funds, sovereign investment funds, family offices, and public companies. All institutions holding crypto assets held Bitcoin (BTC). Bitwise manages more than $9 billion in client assets. The report did not disclose the specific names of these institutions, whose assets range from hundreds of millions to tens of billions of dollars.
Why Institutions Refuse to Sell Bitcoin
None of the interviewees cited price declines as a reason to sell. Instead, they said they would exit only if the logic for holding crypto was broken, such as a regulatory reversal or a large-scale scandal in the industry. Some institutions had previously experienced drawdowns of around 50%, including the 2022 round.
Most institutions treat Bitcoin as a store of value, often paired with gold. Holdings in Ethereum and Solana are more selective and are viewed as technology bets—if no real use cases emerge within a few years, they will reduce their positions.
The report quoted an investment advisor as saying: "If the judgment is correct, given the S-shaped adoption curve, selling now would be selling too early."
These position sizes are generally very small, accounting for 0.5% to 13% of investable assets, with most between 1% and 2%. Almost all interviewees are already using or plan to use spot Bitcoin ETFs—products that directly hold Bitcoin and can be traded like stocks.
What Public Filings Reveal
Bitwise selected these 15 interviewed institutions itself, and it is also selling crypto funds to similar institutions. Public filings show that not all large holders stood firm. According to 13F quarterly holdings reports, Harvard University's endowment cut its Bitcoin ETF holdings by 43% in the first quarter of 2026. It is unclear whether Harvard was among the 15 institutions interviewed.
By contrast, Abu Dhabi's two sovereign funds retained all their IBIT shares during the second-quarter decline.
Bitwise said such public filings underestimate institutions' actual holdings, because some investors allocate through vehicles that do not require disclosure. It listed governance, operations, and reputation as the three major obstacles to institutions allocating larger positions.
As of press time, the price of Bitcoin was about $84,534. Bitwise expects that most institutions will hold crypto within five years.
