The Markets July 15, 2025

Amidst Institutional Interest, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale Dominate Crypto ETF Assets

Three firms manage more than 85% of all crypto ETF assets under management, totaling approximately $123 billion.

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Institutional investors expect cryptocurrency to become more prevalent in institutional portfolios and expect traditional financial institutions to dramatically increase their launches of digital asset funds in the near future.

According to London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management Ltd., which partnered with research firm Pureprofile to interview 200 institutional investors and wealth managers for the project, 75% of respondents said they expect cryptocurrencies to become a part of institutional portfolio asset allocation within the next five years.

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Cryptocurrency ETFs are often used by institutional asset owners that seek exposure to the digital asset class. These offerings are dominated by three firms, according to research from ISS Market Intelligence, which, like CIO, is owned by ISS STOXX.

BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Grayscale Investments manage more than 85% of all crypto ETF assets under management, totaling approximately $123 billion, ISS MI reported. Fidelity offers exposure to bitcoin and ether through its Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and its Fidelity Ethereum Fund, and Grayscale offers exposure through four different funds.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and iShares Ethereum Trust account for $70 billion in assets, about half of crypto ETF AUM.

The Nickel Digital survey also found that 66% of respondents said they see cryptocurrency as the asset class with the biggest opportunity to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns over the next five years, followed by private equity and emerging market equities at 64% and 61%, respectively. These investors expect more “traditional financial institutions” to launch crypto funds over the next two years, with 43% saying there will be a dramatic increase and 53% anticipating a slight increase.

“Traditional finance firms are already making significant strides into the digital assets space and that is only predicted to increase over the next two years,” said Anatoly Crachilov, CEO and founding partner in Nickel Digital, in a statement. “The views of institutional investors and wealth managers on the ability of crypto to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns helps to explain why that is the case, and why professional investors increasingly expect crypto to be part of institutional investors portfolio allocation.”

The Trump administration includes a slate of regulators who are proponents of digital assets, including Jonathan Gould, an attorney who was confirmed by the Senate Thursday to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. After serving the first Trump administration, he was chief legal officer at Bitfury Group, a provider of crypto mining equipment and related services.

Products & Services July 14, 2025

Blue Owl and Voya Partner to Offer Private Market Solutions to DC Plans

The firms will begin by offering collective investment trusts available through adviser-managed accounts.

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Blue Owl Capital Inc. and Voya Financial Inc. announced a partnership to develop private market investment products for defined contribution plans—a solution that has recently seen increased interest among plan sponsors.

Blue Owl and Voya will offer private market strategies in vehicles tailored to DC plans, addressing what they have identified as a growing demand for alternative investment solutions within retirement portfolios. According to their announcement, Blue Owl and Voya will focus initially on the development of collective investment trusts that provide access to Blue Owl’s private market strategies. The CITs will be available through adviser-managed accounts on Voya’s retirement platform and through target-date solutions managed by Voya Investment Management.

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“At Voya, we’re committed to helping retirement savers and their families build stronger financial futures. That means providing the right investment tools and solutions—including access to private market options—that meet our clients’ evolving needs,” said Heather Lavallee, Voya’s CEO, in a statement. “Partnering with Blue Owl enables us to expand access to innovative solutions that can help clients better achieve their retirement goals.”

The companies also plan to collaborate on private investment solutions available through other channels, including third-party retirement platforms and target-date account providers. They are also considering opportunities to collaborate in other industries, such as in insurance asset management—leveraging Voya’s fixed-income solutions and Blue Owl’s direct lending and investment grade asset-backed private credit strategies.

“This collaboration with Voya is a natural extension of our mission, laying the foundation for future initiatives within the retirement channel,” said Blue Owl Co-CEOs Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz in a statement. “The retirement landscape is expanding, and we see providing plan participants access to private markets assets as a way to build more resilient investment portfolios and pursue stronger long-term returns.”

Blue Owl had $273 billion in assets under management as of March 31, across credit, real assets and strategic growth capital. Voya administers benefits to 15.7 million individual, workplace and institutional clients as of July 14.

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