At the iConnections conference in Miami, institutional investors showed renewed interest in digital assets despite bitcoin's 25% decline this year. Allocators now view crypto as a core part of alternative investments, led by family offices. Regulatory clarity remains a key hurdle for broader adoption.
The iConnections conference in Miami, held this week, highlighted a shift in sentiment among the world's largest allocators toward digital assets. Ron Biscardi, CEO of iConnections, which represents over $55 trillion in assets and tracks thousands of meetings between fund managers and investors, noted that interest has stabilized after rough years following the 2022 FTX collapse. "[In 2025] we started to see funds wanting to come back, wanting to spend some money," Biscardi said, crediting optimism from a more crypto-friendly regulatory stance in Washington, though progress has been slow.
More than 75 digital asset funds participated, leading to about 750 meetings between managers and allocators—levels comparable to the 2022 peak before the FTX fallout. Nearly a quarter of limited partners on the iConnections platform now express interest in digital asset strategies, with family offices leading the cohort due to their focus on emerging asset classes. This trend persists despite bitcoin's price falling nearly 25% since the start of the year to around $66,000, erasing over a trillion dollars in market capitalization since October's high. Stocks of crypto firms like Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) have also underperformed other tech shares.
Biscardi described the current mood as a "more normal experience," neither overly enthusiastic nor avoidant. He believes digital assets are "very, very close to achieving institutional legitimacy," with bitcoin already there, though altcoins await a safer regulatory framework. "The regulatory hurdles are number one," he emphasized, noting that large allocators, as fiduciaries, require responsible structures to justify allocations to boards.
Debates have evolved; questions about crypto being a Ponzi scheme, common in 2022, are no longer heard. Conservative endowments have begun adding measured exposure via bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds to boost returns without overhauling portfolios. However, bitcoin is treated more as a risk asset correlated with equities than a store of value like gold. Institutions rarely buy tokens directly, preferring ETFs and funds where general partners select specific coins. Sponsorships rose, with firms like BitGo (BTGO), Galaxy Digital (GLXY), Ripple, and Blockstream at top tiers.