Nicholas Peach, head of APAC iShares at BlackRock, said a small model-portfolio shift toward crypto in Asia could translate into outsized inflows.

The 1% math

Speaking on a panel at Consensus Hong Kong, Peach said some model advisors are recommending a 1% allocation to cryptocurrencies in standard portfolios.

Peach said:

“Some model advisors are now recommending a 1% allocation to cryptocurrencies in your standard investment portfolio. If you do some fun math… there’s about $108 trillion of household wealth in all of Asia. So you take 1% of that… and that’d be just south of $2 trillion of inflows into the market, which is what, 60% of what the market is now?”

IBIT’s growth and Asian demand

Peach pointed to demand for regulated ETF access as a key driver, including interest from Asian investors in U.S.-listed products.

BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, launched in January 2024 and was described as the fastest-growing ETF in history.

Peach said the fund has grown to nearly $53 billion in assets under management.

Regional ETF expansion

Peach said ETF adoption is rising across Asia more broadly, with investors using ETFs for exposure to equities, fixed income, and commodities alongside crypto.

Several Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, are moving toward launching or expanding crypto ETF offerings.

Education and portfolio strategy

Peach said the next challenge for asset managers is pairing product access with investor education and portfolio strategy.

He added:

“The pools of capital that are available in traditional finance are unbelievably large. It doesn’t take much in terms of adoption to lead to really significant financial results.”