Even a modest model portfolio allocation to cryptocurrencies in Asia could drive massive inflows into the market, according to Nicholas Peach, head of APAC iShares at BlackRock.
Speaking at a panel at Consensus Hong Kong, Peach said growing institutional acceptance of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly in Asia, is reshaping expectations for the sector.
“Some modeling advisors now recommend a 1% allocation to cryptocurrencies in your standard investment portfolio,” Peach said. “If you do some fun math… there’s about $108 trillion of household wealth across Asia. So if you take 1% of that… and that would be just shy of the $2 trillion of inflows into the market, which is, like, 60% of what the market is now?”
Peach emphasized this point as a way to frame the scale of capital being kept on the sidelines, especially in traditional finance. He argued that a small change in asset allocation models could have a huge impact on the future of digital assets, even if adoption remains conservative.
BlackRock’s iShares unit is the world’s largest ETF provider and has played a central role in providing regulated crypto access to traditional investors. The company launched its US-listed Bitcoin spot ETF in January 2024. That fund, known as IBIT, became the fastest-growing ETF in history, now with nearly $53 billion in assets under management.
But according to Peach, the boom is not just an American story. Asian investors have accounted for a significant portion of flows into US-listed crypto ETFs. “In fact, there has been a boom in ETF adoption more broadly in the region,” he said, noting that more and more investors are turning to ETFs to express views on all asset classes, not just cryptocurrencies, but also stocks, fixed income and commodities.
Several markets in Asia, including Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, are moving toward launching or expanding crypto ETF offerings. Industry observers expect those regional platforms to deepen as regulatory clarity improves.
For BlackRock and other asset managers, the next challenge is combining product access with investor education and portfolio strategy.
“The reserves of capital available in traditional finance are incredibly large,” Peach said. “It doesn’t take much in terms of adoption to generate really significant financial results.”
