Local institutions are far less Bitcoin-heavy than their global counterparts, according to trading platform Kraken, demonstrating favour for those digital assets that support real economic activity.
While Bitcoin remains the dominant asset for most institutional investors globally, Kraken’s data indicates Australian corporates are building more diversified portfolios with a strong emphasis on utility, yield and network functionality.
The anonymised and aggregated analysis of Australian corporate portfolios shows “blue chip” digital assets Bitcoin and Ethereum together account for 59 per cent of Australian corporate crypto balances, compared with more than 70 per cent of corporate balances globally.
On their own, Bitcoin holdings represent just 40 per cent locally – well below the 61 per cent global average – with firms instead directing capital into yield-generating proof-of-stake networks such as Ethereum and Solana, as well as transactional assets like Ripple.
Kraken says the trend suggests Australian corporates are prioritising ‘productive’ digital assets that can generate returns or support real economic activity, rather than relying solely on traditional store-of-value plays.
Ethereum alone accounts for 19 per cent of local corporate balances – significantly higher than the 12 per cent global average – underscoring a preference for assets that can earn staking rewards or underpin decentralised finance activity.
Solana and Ripple also feature prominently, each making up 8 per cent of Australian corporate holdings, more than double their approximate 4 per cent share in global portfolios. According to Kraken, this signals early regional interest in networks that enable faster transactions, tokenisation and other enterprise-driven use cases.
“Ripple and Solana have more than double their global share of corporate wallets here, which alongside other utility and yield-generating digital assets, received early interest and initiatives with major financial institutions in our region,” Jonathon Miller, managing director of Kraken Australia and rest of world, said.
He observes Australian funds are positioning toward “productive assets” rather than passive stores of value.
“Institutional portfolios here look more like they’re backing infrastructure,” he said.
“It’s tough to infer intent just from the cold data of an average wallet, but what strikes me is there is a preference for assets that do something – generate yield, enable transactions – rather than simply hold value.
“Whilst this is a different dataset than the consumer wallet analysis shared in October, overall, it appears Australian corporates appear more diversified than their retail counterparts, holding a wider spread of large-cap assets while maintaining core exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum. This is broadly as expected, with institutional capital shifting to networks with tangible economic utility in order to pursue potential longer-term profits.”
Meanwhile, stablecoins such as USDT and USDC account for 12 per cent of local corporate balances – roughly in line with global levels – suggesting Australian institutions maintain similar liquidity and risk-management practices to their overseas peers. Miller said the overall trend indicates Australian institutions are positioning towards “productive assets” that contribute to broader digital infrastructure.
EY-Parthenon’s 2025 survey of 350 financial institutions and corporates found that 65 per cent expect rising interest in stablecoins over the next year, and nearly four in five plan to integrate them through existing banking channels – evidence that institutional confidence is scaling alongside growing infrastructure maturity.
According to a recent report by CoinDesk and Protocol Theory: APAC Digital Asset Adoption 2025: Stablecoins, Tokenisation and Integration, in most developed markets, stablecoins are now viewed more favourably than crypto. In Australia, positive sentiment is 13 points higher for stablecoins.
“Stablecoins attract broader consideration than cryptocurrencies across every APAC market,” the report said.
“From individual users in emerging markets to institutions in global financial hubs, the region continues to define what adoption looks like in practice.”
