Institutional investors have started increasing their exposure to digital assets again, and bitcoin (BTC) remains at the centre of their capital allocation.

CoinShares’ April survey showed institutions were improving their overall stance on cryptocurrencies, but named bitcoin as the asset with the strongest growth outlook, Cointelegraph reported on May 7.

The survey covered 26 institutional investors managing $1.3 trillion in total assets. Their average allocation to digital assets was about 1%. CoinShares described this as a “typical initial entry size” seen during the current risk-reduction phase.

Capital allocation remained heavily tilted toward bitcoin. About 32% of respondents said they already invest in bitcoin, while 25% allocate funds to ethereum (ETH). James Butterfill (제임스 버터필), head of research at CoinShares, said in the report that bitcoin has the most attractive growth outlook among digital assets. Sentiment toward ethereum and solana (SOL) also improved slightly from the previous quarter.

ETF expansion and changes in the regulatory environment were cited as key drivers behind improving sentiment. Institutional investors said perceptions of digital assets were improving overall and exposure was increasing as access via ETFs broadened. In particular, the launch of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs is being seen as a turning point for institutional adoption. The ETF structure reduces operational friction by allowing regulated access to bitcoin without direct custody.

Fund flows also aligned with this shift. Digital-asset investment products recorded four straight weeks of net inflows through April 27, with cumulative inflows of $3.9 billion. Weekly inflows as of April 27 totalled $1.2 billion. The inflow trend continued into early May. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows close to $1 billion this week, and bitcoin’s price rose back above $80,000.

Even so, it is difficult to say institutional capital is entering a phase of rapid, broad-based expansion. Respondents pointed to internal constraints and regulatory uncertainty as the biggest factors holding back wider adoption. That means investment rules and compliance issues remain barriers to entry even as market sentiment improves.

A shift in preferences was also detected. Respondents were moving interest away from so-called “legacy altcoins” with long histories and large market capitalisations toward new decentralised finance protocols and emerging blockchain areas. This suggests capital is being reallocated within digital assets toward higher-growth segments rather than simple diversification.

The possibility of further expansion by institutions has also been raised. In a recent survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon, 73% of institutional investors said they plan to increase digital-asset exposure further this year. Many respondents also expected cryptocurrency prices to rise over the next 12 months.

In this environment, two key points are in focus for the institutional market. One is whether inflows centred on spot bitcoin ETFs will continue. The other is whether allocations to digital assets, now stuck around 1%, will actually rise as regulatory uncertainty and internal constraints ease. So far, an improvement in market sentiment has been confirmed, but institutional capital is still moving cautiously with bitcoin as its محور.