A new CoinShares survey of 261 wealth professionals across Europe has revealed a significant gap in digital asset oversight. 52% of UK wealth advisors report more than half of their clients' digital asset exposure is outside their oversight, with one in four facing similar blind spots across Europe. The survey defines the management gap as the share of a client's digital asset exposure that an advisor cannot see, with holdings on personal exchanges or self-custody wallets falling outside the advisory relationship. This represents capital that is already out there but invisible to the advisory relationship, not a forecast of future demand. The wider European survey across France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland shows the UK gap is significantly higher at 52% versus 25% for the region overall.
The survey identifies firm policy as the primary driver of the crypto blind spot, rather than investor demand or advisor knowledge. 61% of advisors work at firms that restrict digital assets or provide no internal guidance, making them 8.5 times likelier to report unmanaged exposure than those with supportive policies. The gap moves dramatically from 4% at supportive firms to 34% at restrictive ones, with CoinShares estimating unmanaged exposure is 8.5 times wider in blocked firms. Active recommendation activity also varies sharply by firm stance, standing at just 1% in restricted firms versus 48% at firms with clear support. When advisers are blocked from discussing or managing crypto, clients do not necessarily stop investing; they simply move the position outside the relationship. As CoinShares co-founder Jean-Marie Mognetti explains, "The capital has already been allocated. The people entrusted with managing it simply cannot see it, and in most cases not because clients are unwilling to engage, but because firm policy prevents them from doing so."
The knowledge gap follows the same institutional pattern, with more than three-quarters of advisors who call themselves under-informed working at blocked firms. This suggests training follows firm policy rather than the reverse. When asked what would raise their confidence, advisors prioritize structural changes over training, with regulatory recognition of digital assets as a mainstream asset class ranked first at 45%, followed by access to exchange-traded products at 43%. Client-facing educational tools rank joint last at 9%, indicating advisors believe market changes will be more effective than training alone. The findings arrive as crypto ownership continues to grow in the UK, with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority reporting around 8% of adults owned cryptocurrency as of their December report.
The survey suggests what could unlock adviser engagement, with advisers pointing to clearer regulatory recognition and improved access to exchange-traded products as the biggest enablers of involvement. CoinShares recently announced that five physically-backed crypto ETPs are available through Bourse Direct, giving retail clients access via existing securities accounts with no wallets, no private keys, and no operational complexity. The wrapper addresses several friction points at once: custody, platform onboarding, and adviser comfort. The regulatory landscape is evolving with the FCA proposing to allow authorized investment funds to allocate up to 10% of their assets to cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes, signalling continued regulatory engagement with the sector. The key deadline is October 25, 2027, when in-scope firms will need prior FCA authorisation.
The cost of waiting is rising significantly for wealth firms, with an estimated £1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) expected to pass to the UK's next generation within a decade. Up to 8% of advisors already report rising client interest alongside an unmanaged majority, indicating clients are not waiting for institutional approval. Italy's advisor-led retail model shows the lowest gap at 12%, suggesting client demand is being converted into managed exposure before it shifts into self-directed activity. CoinShares co-founder Jean-Marie Mognetti warns the issue is becoming a wrong-way risk for firms as client assets migrate beyond advisory visibility. If UK wealth distribution waits for clearer rules, the immediate beneficiary could be the issuer with ready-to-place, regulated wrapper infrastructure already aligned to platform expectations. The survey comes as industry executives continue to argue that crypto's next stage of adoption will be driven by payments rather than speculation, with Ripple executives comparing today's crypto payments market to early e-commerce adoption.
