Digital assets are gradually becoming more popular with investors. Around 93% of professional investors consider digital assets vital to investment and wish to invest in them along with traditional assets to produce “all-weather” income strategies to address the risk of inflation and fiat currencies.

A new global survey by Laser Digital, Japanese Bank Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary, finds that professional investors in Middle Eastern countries say that digital assets have offered them opportunities to diversify their investments between the traditional and the new age to help deal with inflation threats.

While six in seven of the respondents are positive about the digital asset class, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, over the next 12 months, 43% of the regional investors say their and/or their clients’ total percentage exposure to digital assets will be between 5%-10% over the next three years.

“Majority of institutional investors surveyed saw a clear role for digital assets in the investment management landscape, and the benefits they can bring, such as greater diversification of portfolios,” said Jez Mohideen, chief executive of Laser Digital. 

However, looking at the challenges of digital asset investments, 94% of investors said there are legal or regulatory restrictions applicable to them that could prevent their funds or clients from investing in a product that has exposure to digital assets.

Between January to April 2023, cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum registered a 69% growth, showing promise for further growth. The survey stated that the combined value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation globally reached $1.2 trillion, despite having started below $800 billion this year.