More Hong Kong institutions to cut crypto investment amid market meltdown: survey
- A rising number of Hong Kong institutional investors surveyed by Bitstamp said they would reduce or remove cryptocurrency options in their investment plans
- Amid a global economic slowdown and monetary policy tightening, the cryptocurrency market has struggled to recover from a crash earlier this year
Institutional investors in Hong Kong have been planning to reduce their portfolios’ exposure to cryptocurrency fluctuations, as the asset class continues to reel from a market rout earlier this year.
In the second quarter, around 9 per cent of Hong Kong institutional investors surveyed by London-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp said they were going to reduce cryptocurrency options in their investment plans, or remove them altogether – up from just 3 per cent in the previous quarter.
Around 29 per cent of the 253 Hong Kong institutional investors polled said they would increase their cryptocurrency investment, down from 29 per cent in the first quarter.
The number of investors surveyed in the two quarters were roughly the same, Bitstamp said.
01:25
Malaysian police flatten US$1.25 million worth of bitcoin-mining machines with steamroller
“It is true that retail investors and the institutions who serve them are less active in crypto and perhaps looking for other assets in the short term,” said James Quinn, managing partner of Hong Kong-headquartered Q9 Capital, a crypto investment platform for institutions and high-net-worth individuals.
“The ‘easy money’ is not so easy at the moment,” he said.
Amid a global economic slowdown and monetary policy tightening by major central banks, the cryptocurrency market has struggled to recover from a crash in May that wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars from the value of popular tokens.
Other blockchain-based virtual assets that exploded in popularity late last year have also slumped in recent months, as investors move away from riskier segments.
01:51
Meta opens a physical retail store where customers take a first look at virtual reality
Despite the headwinds, 76 per cent of Hong Kong institutional investors surveyed said they would “actively recommend” cryptocurrency investment to their clients, up from 68 per cent in the first quarter. Around 71 per cent of them also deemed cryptocurrencies “trustworthy”, up from 68 per cent previously.
Q9 Capital’s Quinn also said he has seen more institutions, especially those in traditional finance, come up with investment plans for digital assets.
“The interest level remains high in further building the ecosystem, especially as it relates to proper investment products and solutions,” Quinn said. “[Institutions] are not changing course.”
Still, some Hong Kong institutional investors surveyed by Bitstamp remained hesitant to adopt cryptocurrencies, with 30 per cent citing insufficient regulations and 29 per cent citing frequent theft and losses in digital assets.
