Spain's Largest Asset Managers Still Reluctant to Invest in Cryptocurrencies

The biggest Spanish asset managers are still not convinced of cryptocurrencies as an asset class, and therefore have no plans to invest in the space yet. The declarations of several spokespeople linked to these companies state that, while there is a significant opportunity in the nascent cryptocurrency sector, it is still too young and volatile to put significant investments behind it.

Spanish Asset Managers Still Skeptical About Crypto

Spain’s largest asset managers are still not convinced crypto is a good investment vehicle, at least for now, according to statements from several key finance officials. While it is permitted for asset managers in Spain to invest in cryptocurrencies, their incipient nature, volatility, and the gray areas of regulation are keeping these big funds away from them.

Caixabank AM’s investment strategy director, Santiago Rubio, has declared they won’t touch cryptocurrencies. Caixabank AM is one of the largest asset managers in Spain, having more than 70 million euros under its custody. Their stance is shared by BBVA AM, another Spanish giant company. Its global asset allocation manager, Jaime Martinez, stated there is a possibility of investing in cryptocurrencies in the future, but they don’t have plans for doing it soon. Martinez stressed:

In 10 years it will be much more normal, today we are just starting, to call it that, in a different way of having exposure to assets and, like everything in life, you have to go step by step. We are not going to complicate our clients with things that we do not control well.

Cristina Rodriguez, of Santander AM, also explained cryptocurrencies weren’t assets promoted in their offer, stressing they didn’t have plans of investing in these vehicles. Finance managers who want to invest in crypto must update their documents to advise investors about the dangers and the volatility of these newly integrated tools.

Crypto Still Not Big in Spain

These statements paint a stark picture for the future of crypto investments by Spanish asset managers, that are still not sold on the validity of them as potentially interesting for their customers. This is clearly very different from what is happening in the U.S., where asset giants like Blackrock, which manages more than 7 trillion dollars, already has indirect exposure to bitcoin through its 16.3% stake ownership in Microstrategy.

And more recently, Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, stated:

The firm has monitored the evolution of crypto assets. We are studying what it means, the infrastructure, the regulatory landscape

However, these institutions seem to be inclined to lean towards more traditional investments in Spain, and will take a little more time for them to be confident in crypto.