Fund managers' average cryptocurrency allocation rose to 1.3 percent of their portfolios, extending gains for a second straight quarter, blockchain media outlet Coinpost reported on Wednesday.

In an October 2026 fund manager survey published by crypto asset manager CoinShares, the share was higher than 1.2 percent in July.

The survey covered 28 respondents, with total assets under management of about $642 billion. The groups with the largest crypto positions were family offices and individual investors with broad discretion over their assets.

The crypto allocation rose to 1.8 percent in October 2025 but then fell sharply as selling coincided with price declines. It slid to 0.1 percent in an April survey this year. CoinShares said the low reading then was also due to a higher share of institutional investor responses, which weighed on the weighted average. The allocation turned higher in July and rose again this time, extending the rebound.

Investment motives are also changing. Some 40 percent of responses viewed cryptocurrencies as a tool for diversification. The share citing speculative purposes fell below 9 percent, dropping to fifth place. The direction of fund shifts also changed. Respondents tended to cut allocations to stocks and bonds and move money into alternative assets such as commodities and cryptocurrencies, rather than into cash.

Bitcoin (BTC) remained at the centre of held and preferred assets. Bitcoin continued to rank first as the asset with the highest expected growth, and bitcoin and ethereum (ETH) together accounted for 47 percent based on actual holdings.

Preferences for altcoins shifted from established major tokens to relatively newer names such as Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Sui (SUI). Growth expectations for ethereum and solana also improved slightly. This shows a trend in which market participants keep large assets while spreading some funds into emerging tokens.

There were also clear factors holding back investment expansion. Respondents who already invest cited high price volatility as the biggest risk. CoinShares pointed to the possibility that perceptions were influenced by a period in the past 12 months when bitcoin fell about 50 percent from its peak.

Regulatory concerns persisted. CoinShares saw the reaction as unsurprising, given continued delays in the U.S. crypto market structure bill known as the Clarity Act. Respondents who have not yet invested cited regulatory uncertainty and internal investment restrictions as key barriers to entering the market.

As a result, institutional allocations to cryptocurrencies are recovering, but resolving volatility and institutional uncertainty remains key before a full-scale increase in portfolio weightings. For now, bitcoin is keeping its position as the core asset, while some funds continue to move into emerging altcoins such as HYPE and SUI.