Even a modest model portfolio allocation to crypto in Asia could drive massive inflows into the market, according to Nicholas Peach, head of APAC iShares at BlackRock.

Speaking on a panel at Consensus Hong Kong, Peach said rising institutional acceptance of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — particularly in Asia — is reshaping expectations for the sector.

“Some model advisors are now recommending a 1% allocation to cryptocurrencies in your standard investment portfolio,” Peach said. “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?”

Peach emphasized the point as a way to frame the scale of capital sitting on the sidelines, especially in traditional finance. A small shift in asset allocation models, he argued, could have an outsized impact on the future of digital assets — even if adoption remains conservative.

BlackRock’s iShares unit is the world’s largest ETF provider, and it's played a central role in bringing regulated crypto access to traditional investors. The firm launched its U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2024. That fund, known as IBIT, became the fastest-growing ETF in history, now with nearly $53 billion in assets under management.

But according to Peach, the boom isn’t just a U.S. story. Asian investors have made up a significant share of flows into U.S.-listed crypto ETFs. “There’s actually been a boom in ETF adoption more broadly in the region,” he said, noting that more investors are turning to ETFs to express views across asset classes — not just crypto, but also equities, fixed income, and commodities.

Several markets in Asia, including Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea, are moving toward launching or expanding crypto ETF offerings. Industry observers expect those regional platforms to deepen as regulatory clarity improves.

For BlackRock and other asset managers, the next challenge is to match product access with investor education and portfolio strategy.

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