Affluent investors are becoming more comfortable holding digital assets, even as many of their financial advisers remain cautious, according to a CoinShares survey reported by Cointelegraph. At the same time, OKX has extended a funding round at a $25 billion valuation, while Strategy directed substantially more money toward preferred-share buybacks than Bitcoin purchases last week.
The developments come as crypto markets face a more challenging backdrop. Bitcoin recorded its strongest third quarter since 2017, but Treasury yields above 5% are giving investors an alternative to riskier assets. Against that setting, the latest survey points to continued interest among wealthy investors, while corporate activity shows that capital is still moving through several parts of the digital-asset industry.
Wealthy investors show stronger crypto appetite
CoinShares surveyed 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets across the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. A majority of respondents in the seven markets said they owned digital assets, with crypto representing about 10% of their portfolios on average.
Ownership was lowest in Sweden, at 54%, and stood at roughly 70% in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland. Among existing crypto investors, at least 85% in five of the seven countries said they planned to increase their exposure in 2026.
The survey also highlighted a gap between investors and the professionals advising them. About four in 10 respondents in Switzerland, France, the US and Germany who worked with a financial adviser said the adviser was overly cautious about digital assets.
The reported 10% average allocation was challenged by Ric Edelman, founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals. He said his own research indicated that allocations of 2% to 5% were more common. Edelman nevertheless supports allocations ranging from 10% to 40%, depending on an investor’s tolerance for risk. Those figures reflect differing views and do not constitute a recommendation for investors.
Bitcoin faces competition from high Treasury yields
Bitcoin gained 43% in the third quarter and posted a third consecutive weekly advance, according to Delphi Digital. The research firm said the cryptocurrency was rising into significant resistance, including the Federal Reserve’s September rate hike and Treasury yields at multi-decade highs.
Yields above 5% can make government debt more attractive relative to volatile risk assets. Bitcoin briefly moved above $87,000 last week before retreating below $83,000 on Wednesday.
The interest-rate outlook has also changed. September payrolls showed 29,000 jobs added, below the 80,000 forecast cited in the source material, reducing the probability of an October rate hike according to CME FedWatch. New York Fed President John Williams also said there was no urgency to raise rates again.
Vanessa Grellet of Arche Capital offered a different perspective on the market environment. She said the “debasement trade”—the preference for scarce assets such as Bitcoin and gold as a hedge against declining fiat-currency purchasing power—does not depend on low interest rates. Elevated Treasury yields nevertheless remain a hurdle for risk assets.
OKX secures more funding at $25 billion valuation
Crypto exchange OKX has raised an undisclosed amount in an extension of a funding round that included a $200 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange in March. The latest transaction values OKX at $25 billion.
Existing partners and investors participated, including Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures, Qube Research & Technologies, Ripple and stablecoin issuer Circle. OKX did not disclose the size of the new investment.
The funding arrives as OKX expands its involvement in traditional financial markets. On Monday, an OKX-ICE joint venture filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a tokenized-stock trading platform under the agency’s new innovation exemption. The platform’s launch remains subject to the filing and exemption.
Tokenized stocks are digital representations of securities or related economic exposure. Their proposed use illustrates how crypto companies are seeking to connect blockchain-based systems with established financial markets, although the filing does not by itself confirm that the platform will launch.
Strategy prioritizes preferred-share buybacks
Strategy spent $176.3 million repurchasing 1.77 million STRC shares last week, compared with $28.7 million spent buying 334 Bitcoin. The company’s preferred-share buybacks therefore exceeded its Bitcoin purchases by more than six times.
An SEC 8-K filing said the purchases brought Strategy’s holdings to exactly 848,000 BTC. The company’s Bitcoin accumulation slowed in the third quarter: its holdings rose by only 0.2% after purchases of 7,218 BTC were partly offset by the sale of 5,553 BTC.
STRC shares had recovered to near their $100 par value, trading around $99.53 after falling to roughly $75 in late June. Strategy also filed a proxy asking shareholders to approve daily dividend payments on STRC, STRF, STRK and STRD. STRC currently pays dividends twice a month, while the other three securities pay quarterly.
Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the proposal on Oct. 28. If approved, daily STRC dividends would begin in November, followed by STRF, STRK and STRD in January. Strategy said the changes would not alter dividend rates or its overall payment obligations, but could affect reinvestment delays, liquidity and price stability.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at 11:43-11:44 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2026, showed mixed performance among the tracked assets:
- Solana (SOL): $109.3944591431, down 0.22% over 24 hours and 9.76% over seven days.
- Aster (ASTER): $0.7118214829, up 0.69% over 24 hours and 0.24% over seven days.
- OriginTrail (TRAC): $0.4050122115, down 0.19% over 24 hours and 9.75% over seven days.
- Cap (CAP): $0.0937547056, up 5.97% over 24 hours and 40.46% over seven days.
These figures represent the prices and percentage changes supplied by Moneyiar at the stated time and cover assets that are separate from the Bitcoin figures discussed above.
