Even a modest allocation to digital assets across Asia could unlock enormous capital flows, according to a senior executive at BlackRock.

Speaking at Consensus in Hong Kong, Nicholas Peach, head of APAC iShares, highlighted the accelerating institutional acceptance of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the vast scale of wealth held within traditional financial systems in the region.

Peach noted that some model portfolio advisors are now recommending a 1% allocation to cryptocurrencies within diversified investment portfolios. With Asia accounting for an estimated $108 trillion in household wealth, such an allocation would equate to nearly $2 trillion in potential inflows — a sum that would represent a significant portion of the current total crypto market capitalization.

He emphasized that the calculation is meant to illustrate the size of capital pools still largely untapped by digital assets. Even incremental adjustments to portfolio models, he argued, could have an outsized impact on the market’s long-term trajectory.

BlackRock’s iShares division, the world’s largest ETF provider, has been central to expanding regulated crypto access. In January 2024, the firm launched the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in the United States. The fund rapidly became the fastest-growing ETF in history and now oversees roughly $53 billion in assets under management.

Peach said demand for crypto ETFs is not limited to the U.S., noting that Asian investors have contributed meaningfully to inflows into U.S.-listed products. More broadly, ETF adoption throughout Asia has accelerated, with investors increasingly using the structure to gain exposure across asset classes — from equities and fixed income to commodities and digital assets.

Financial hubs including Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea are progressing toward launching or expanding crypto ETF offerings as regulatory frameworks evolve. Market participants expect those regional platforms to grow as clarity improves.

For BlackRock and its peers, Peach said the next step is aligning product availability with investor education and disciplined portfolio construction.

“The capital pools in traditional finance are extraordinarily large,” he said. “It doesn’t require dramatic adoption to generate meaningful financial results.”