Wealthy 'Old Money' Investors Hold Bitcoin Longer Than Crypto Natives, Says BingX Exec

BingX chief strategy officer Kevin Lee has revealed that wealthy 'old money' investors are demonstrating stronger 'diamond hands' with Bitcoin than crypto-native traders, taking a notably longer-term approach to the asset. Speaking at a Token2049 fireside chat in Singapore with Cointelegraph's Ciaran Lyons, Lee said he regularly works with high-net-worth individuals seeking alternative investments, and their conviction in Bitcoin outpaces that of typical crypto traders. 'They have stronger diamond hands than any of us,' Lee stated, adding that Bitcoin's growing market maturity has shifted how wealthy investors view it — as a portfolio diversifier rather than a vehicle for rapid 10x returns.

Lee suggested that affluent investors represent a largely untapped source of crypto capital, with their buy-and-hold strategy positioning Bitcoin as a potential portfolio diversifier for a broader investor base. He cited the example of an investor allocating 5% to gold and 5% to Bitcoin as a parallel hedge. This perspective is supported by a CoinShares survey released on Monday, which polled 2,230 investors with at least $500,000 in investable assets. The survey found that long-term appreciation and diversification were the top reasons for holding crypto, while short-term speculation ranked last. Notably, 80% of digital asset investors surveyed reported holding Bitcoin.

Despite this growing long-term conviction among some wealthy investors, broader family office adoption remains limited. A JPMorgan report from February, based on a survey of 333 single-family offices across 30 countries, found that 89% had zero cryptocurrency exposure, with an average allocation to digital assets of just 0.4%. Only 17% of respondents considered crypto and digital assets a key investment theme, highlighting the significant gap between retail and institutional crypto enthusiasm.