Global family offices increased their exposure to cryptocurrencies in 2025, with a growing number entering the market for the first time, as improvements in infrastructure helped offset limited in-house expertise.
However, sharp price swings and weak recent performance are raising questions about how far that momentum can extend into 2026, according to a report by Financial News.
โFamily offices moved from โcrypto experimentersโ to structured allocators [in 2025], allocating modest but growing percentages of wealth to digital assets,โ said Muhammed Yesilhark, chief investment officer at NOIA Capital.
Family Offices Prioritize Stronger Crypto Infrastructure and Custody
The majority of allocations were clustered on the areas where the infrastructure, custody solutions and risk controls have become stronger than ever before, Yesilhark added. Although there were more universal approaches in the sector, Bitcoin and Ethereum were the major entry points, which was indicative of the comparatively conservative stance of most family offices and limited experience in crypto matters internally.
According to the survey data, it indicates that engagement has increased drastically. In October, a study conducted by BNY Mellon concluded that 74% of family offices with ultra-high-net-worths now invest or are considering investment in cryptocurrencies, an increase by 21 percentage points since the prior year.
Participants in the market noted that this growth was not only due to price cycles, but due to a more developed ecosystem surrounding custody, compliance and regulated investment vehicles.
According to Chris Rhine, the leader of liquid active strategies at Galaxy Digital, his company was experiencing a discernible influx of initial family office allocations in 2025. Most of these investors had done due diligence over an extended period before investing in them, he said, indicating a long-term business strategy and not a buy and sell policy.
Such a conservative strategy failed to stop some of the high-profile actions. Family office VMS headquartered in Hong Kong was the first firm to invest in crypto into the $10 million digital asset hedge fund Re7.
Arthur Hayes Family Office Plans Crypto Fund
Arthur Hayes family office alone is also intending to raise 250 million as the first crypto-centric private equity fund, which highlights the increasing institutional belief in the infrastructure layer of the sector.
In the future, there are industry players who believe family office exposure on digital assets will increase even more in 2026, especially in case of reopening of public markets to crypto-related businesses.
Raptor Digital managing partner and founder, Pete Najarian, stated that any rebound in initial public offerings would help to draw in families interested in exposure via exchange-traded funds and other regulated vehicles.
The conditions in the recent market, however, have dampened enthusiasm. Since October, the cryptocurrency market has lost the capitalization of over 1 trillion, Bitcoin and Ether fell by more than 30 each.
A representative of one of the UAE-based family offices added that the volatility has caused some investors to focus on more stable assets, like real estate. This individual explained that we are still way away on larger scale adoption.
Yesilhark stated that the ability to participate in the 2026 on a long-term basis will rely on discipline. Those family offices less concerned with short-run speculation on infrastructure and more engaged in selective investments and sound underwriting stand greater chances of sticking to the next market cycle.
