UK Advisers Are Missing Half of Clients’ Crypto Portfolios Because of Company Policy
CoinShares says the blind spot is mostly being driven by internal company policy, while the FCA and MiCA could change access to crypto ETPs and oversight of client portfolios.
Key Takeaways
- More than half of UK wealth advisers can’t see more than half of clients’ crypto assets because of company policy.
- CoinShares says restrictive internal rules and unclear guidance are the main reasons for this blind spot.
- New UK and European rules could improve visibility into crypto assets and affect wealth management.
More than half of wealth advisers in the United Kingdom do not have a full view of their clients’ crypto assets. According to a recent CoinShares survey of 261 advisers in Europe, including the UK, this is mainly the result of restrictive policies inside their firms, not a lack of knowledge or interest from the advisers themselves.
Company Policy Limits Are Creating a Blind Spot
The study defines the management gap as the share of a client’s digital assets that an adviser cannot see, for example because they are held in personal exchanges or self-custody wallets. In the UK, 52% of advisers say more than half of their clients’ crypto exposure falls outside their oversight. Across Europe, about a quarter of advisers face this kind of blind spot.
This gap is mainly driven by the fact that 61% of advisers work at firms that restrict digital assets or do not provide clear internal guidance. At these firms, actively recommending crypto is almost nonexistent at 1%, while it rises to 48% at firms with clear support. Unseen exposure is up to 8.5 times higher at restrictive firms, which CoinShares says points to a distorted risk picture.
Regulation and Product Access as a Solution
Advisers say structural changes are needed to boost their confidence. Formal recognition of digital assets as a mainstream investment tool ranks at the top, followed by better access to exchange-traded products (ETPs). Educational tools for clients rank low, which suggests institutional barriers rather than a lack of knowledge among advisers.
The UK regulator FCA has banned retail sales of crypto exchange-traded notes since January 2021, but reopened this market to retail investors in October 2025. There is also a proposal to allow authorized funds to invest up to 10% in these products. This lines up with the upcoming implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026, which will require firms to have FCA authorization for crypto activities starting in October 2027. These developments could help close the gap between advisers and their view of crypto assets.
European Context and Impact on Wealth Management
On the continent, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) takes effect on July 1, 2026, creating a unified European market for regulated crypto products. That could also affect UK firms and their policies. In Italy, where the retail model is adviser-led, the management gap is much lower at 12%, showing that engagement and regulation can narrow the divide.
For wealth managers in the UK, it is important to keep an eye on these developments, especially with an estimated 1 trillion pounds expected to pass to the next generation within ten years. Advisers who cannot see their clients’ crypto assets risk losing those clients. The coming regulatory changes could end up deciding who keeps track of these asset flows.
