Morning Minute: Financial Advisors Show Unprecedented Optimism Toward Crypto

About Morning Minute

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter authored by Tyler Warner. The perspectives shared are his own and do not necessarily represent those of Decrypt. Interested readers can subscribe to Morning Minute via Substack.

Good Morning!

Here are the main stories making headlines today:

• Major cryptocurrencies are surging, with Bitcoin reaching a fresh two-month peak at $95,000.
• Monero has achieved a new all-time high of $715, marking a 69% increase year-to-date.
• A recent Bitwise survey of financial advisors reveals a growing trend of crypto allocations.
• Yzi Labs has invested a substantial eight-figure sum in Genius Trading, aiming to create an “onchain Binance.”
• The ETHGas Foundation has introduced the Gwei token, with a snapshot scheduled for January 19.

Financial Advisors Show Growing Optimism Toward Crypto in 2026

Survey findings indicate a significant shift: financial advisors are recommending cryptocurrencies at record levels.

Key Developments

Recent data highlights that financial advisors are integrating crypto into client portfolios more than ever before. This marks a notable change in their approach to digital assets within traditional investment strategies.

Highlights from the survey include:

• 32% of advisors reported adding crypto to client accounts in the past year, up from 22% in 2024—a new survey record.
• 56% of advisors now personally hold cryptocurrencies, the highest rate since tracking began in 2018.
• Among portfolios with crypto exposure, 64% allocate more than 2% to crypto, a sharp rise from 51% last year.
• 42% of advisors now have institutional channels to purchase crypto for clients, up from 35% in 2024 and just 19% in 2023.
• When asked about the most compelling trends, stablecoins and tokenization led with 30%, followed by “digital gold/fiat debasement” (22%) and crypto-related AI investments (19%).

Financial advisors are not just warming up to crypto—they are embracing it wholeheartedly.

Industry Voices

“We’re allocating 1% to $BITB across client portfolios. Mainstream investors are entering this space.” — Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise

Why This Is Important

This trend signals genuine adoption of crypto as an investment class. While institutional involvement in crypto has often centered on hedge funds and ETFs, financial advisors play a pivotal role, connecting markets with millions of individual investors.

The data suggests three major implications for 2026:

• Crypto is increasingly viewed as a core portfolio component, with allocations above 2% becoming standard where crypto is present—indicating a long-term outlook.
• Greater access is fueling adoption. As more advisors gain institutional tools to purchase crypto, allocations are rising. The leap from 19% access in 2023 to 42% now is particularly noteworthy.
• The narrative is evolving. Advisors are focusing on stablecoins, tokenization, and broader macroeconomic applications.

Momentum Among Wealth Advisors

Wealth advisors are often compared to large ships—slow to change course, but once they do, their momentum is hard to reverse. This turning point is significant: as advisors begin recommending crypto to clients, it’s likely they’ll continue and even increase allocations over time. This sustained demand could eventually outweigh selling pressure in the crypto markets. It’s only a matter of time.

Global Crypto and Market Highlights

Here are some standout developments:

• Leading cryptocurrencies are seeing strong gains: Bitcoin hit a two-month high at $95,100 (+3%), Ethereum rose to $3,300 (+5%), Solana reached $145 (+2%), and XRP climbed to $2.12 (+3%).
• Top performers include IP (+22%), DASH (+22%), ICP (+16%), and PUMP (+13%). Monero set another record at $715.
• Visa is collaborating with BVNK to integrate stablecoin pre-funding and direct payouts into its Visa Direct platform.
• Coingecko is exploring a potential $500 million sale, with Moelis & Company advising.
• A proposed provision in the Clarity Act would grant XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, and others the same non-security status as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• Galaxy Research cautioned that the new Clarity Bill could grant the Treasury excessive surveillance powers.
• Bipartisan lawmakers introduced legislation to clarify when crypto developers and infrastructure providers are considered money transmitters under federal law.
• Wintermute reported that over-the-counter crypto liquidity remains concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum, with altcoin rallies expected to fade in 2025.
• Polygon announced its Open Money Stack, establishing itself as a regulated U.S. payments platform following its acquisitions of Coinme and Sequence.

Corporate Treasuries and ETFs

• Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $753.8 million on Monday, the highest since October 10; Ethereum ETFs attracted $150 million in net inflows.
• SharpLink outlined plans for expansion in 2026 after accumulating nearly $3 billion in ETH and staking $170 million on Linea, aiming for 5% of the ETH supply.
• A newly established SPAC linked to Kraken filed for a $250 million public offering in the U.S.
• Semler Scientific shareholders approved a merger with Vivek’s Strive Inc. in an all-stock transaction.

Meme Coins and Onchain Movers

• Major meme coins mostly posted gains between 5-10%: Dogecoin (+5%), Shiba (+1%), PEPE (+10%), TRUMP (+3%), Bonk (+7%), Pengu (+6%), SPX (+3%), WIF (+9%), and Fartcoin (+9%).
• Notable onchain movers included Ralph (+57%), 1 (+39%), 67 (+20%), and Buttcoin (+30%).

Token Launches, Airdrops, and Protocol Updates

• Fogo unveiled its token airdrop claim page ahead of Thursday’s token generation event.
• The ETHGas Foundation launched the GWEI token and announced a snapshot for January 19.
• Binance revealed that Aster will power perpetuals in its Binance Wallet, offering Aster points and a $200,000 prize pool.
• Yzi Labs invested a significant sum in Genius Trading, a privacy-centric platform aiming to build an onchain version of Binance, with CZ joining as an advisor.
• Backpack introduced a new prediction market featuring cross-margin capabilities.
• Rekt Drinks sold out its World Star Cherry Cola in under 24 hours.

NFT Market Update

• Leading NFT collections remained mostly stable: Punks held at 29.2 ETH, Pudgy Penguins at 5.13 ETH, and BAYC rose 4% to 5.88 ETH. Hypurr declined by 1% to 508 HYPE.
• Chimpers (+14%) and Good Vibes (+8%) were among the top movers.
• Token Works announced that anyone can now create an ERC20 strategy token.