In today’s newsletter, CoinDesk Head of Research Joshua De Vos summarizes their latest crypto ETF report covering U.S. adoption, how quickly it’s happening, and asset concentration.
In continuing reading, we’ve included links to US and global ETF reports for those who want a deeper dive.
——Sarah Morton
Digital asset exchange-traded product landscape: past, present and future
Advisor Cryptocurrency – February – Digital Asset ETPs
Digital asset exchange-traded products (ETPs) are now one of the clearest signals of cryptocurrencies’ integration into traditional portfolio infrastructure. As CoinDesk’s latest research note states, the market has moved beyond the early stages of fragmented access and into a period where regulated wrapper and exchange-traded fund (ETF) allocations largely influence the entry of capital into the asset class.
Cryptocurrency ETP Adoption Status
As of the end of 2025, cryptocurrency ETP assets under management (AUM) reached $184 billion. The United States remains the center of gravity, with assets under management of approximately US$145 billion, nearly 80% of global assets under management. ETFs dominate the product space, accounting for 84.6% of crypto structured product assets. The market is also heavily biased towards simple exposures. Approximately 94.1% of cryptocurrency ETPs use the Delta-1 strategy, and 96.1% are passively managed.
The growth in AUM was primarily driven by the launch of the U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024. The change was immediate. The launch cycle has pushed crypto ETP assets significantly higher and created a product class that now sits within the same ETF allocation framework used by equities, fixed income and commodities.
Adoption has also been unusually fast compared to earlier ETF cycles. The U.S. Bitcoin ETF reached $100 billion in assets in just 11 months, while the U.S. Gold ETF took nearly 16 years to surpass this milestone. By early 2025, Bitcoin ETF AUM matched 91% of the top 10 U.S. gold ETFs, before gold’s subsequent rally widened the gap. This is less a statement about relative value than it is about how quickly Bitcoin can be absorbed into institutional distribution channels once wrappers are available.
scale and concentration
In the cryptocurrency ETP market, risk exposure remains highly concentrated. The asset management scale of Bitcoin-based products reached US$144 billion, accounting for 78.2% of the total asset management scale. Ethereum-based products have reached $26.5 billion, indicating that institutional demand is gradually expanding beyond Bitcoin. Beyond these two assets, exposure remains limited. Solana and XRP-related products manage $3.8 billion and $3 billion respectively, while multi-crypto ETPs account for 0.62% of total AUM, or $2.16 billion.
Pipe widening
This hierarchy is consistent with how the ETF market typically develops. Institutions tend to start with the most liquid assets in the most mature structures and then expand to broader exposures as markets deepen and benchmarks become standardized. This dynamic is now starting to appear in the cryptocurrency ETP pipeline. As of the end of 2025, more than 125 digital asset ETP applications were pending, with Bitcoin continuing to lead the field of applications, followed by XRP and Solana, becoming the most active single asset class.
Another development worth noting is the growth momentum behind basket products. Multi-crypto ETPs still account for a small portion by AUM, but they are the second most active category by number of pending applications. This is important because basket products tend to become more relevant as markets mature, correlations develop, and concentration risks become more apparent. Indexes such as CoinDesk 5 and CoinDesk 20 are increasingly used as reference points for ETPs, structured notes and derivatives, reflecting the market’s gradual shift towards diversified investments.
Consultant visit
The expansion of crypto ETPs also precedes widespread adoption by major advisory platforms. Many large advisors are still in the evaluation or early allocation stages, suggesting that current AUM reflects initial positioning rather than full participation. That’s starting to change, with companies like Vanguard only recently expanding client access to crypto ETFs.
Looking ahead, the size of the global ETF market provides context for the size of the category. Global ETF and ETP assets are expected to grow to approximately US$30 trillion by 2030. Within this framework, even modest allocation decisions have the potential to translate into significantly larger cryptocurrency ETP markets over time.
This summary was created based on the latest report from CoinDesk Research; Digital asset ETP landscape: past, present and future.
– Joshua De Vos, Head of Research Team, CoinDesk
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Read the full Global and U.S. ETF report here: