Crypto assets have continued to gain in importance over the last twelve months. In addition to the sometimes rapid price developments, the ecosystem in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein has also grown with a wide variety of providers. The market is also moving more into the focus of institutional investors. This is shown by a new study by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
The market for assets on the blockchain (crypto assets) has gained significant momentum over the past year. By mid-2025, the total value of all crypto assets worldwide amounted to around 3.5 trillion US dollars (Figure 1). This is shown in the latest "Crypto Assets Study 2025" by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU). The market also saw dynamic growth in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein: assets under management in indirect investment products such as funds or exchange-traded products grew to around 15 billion Swiss francs by June 2025. This means that the volume has risen by around two thirds within twelve months.
There are many reasons for this increase. On the one hand, the prices of various crypto assets have risen. According to study director Thomas Ankenbrand, however, the increase is considerable even after taking this rise in value into account and is also due to a broader acceptance of the market: "Crypto assets have made the leap out of their niche and are increasingly establishing themselves as an asset class in their own right," says the HSLU FinTech expert.
Swiss crypto ecosystem continues to grow
This growth is also reflected in the number of companies in Switzerland and Liechtenstein that offer crypto-asset services. While there were 359 companies a year ago, by mid-2025 there were a total of 407 (Figure 2). This corresponds to growth of over 13 percent. The market for crypto assets continues to be concentrated in the cantons of Zug and Zurich: over 60% of companies in the crypto asset sector are based in these two cantons.
First signs of institutional investors
Professional investors such as banks, family offices and industrial companies appear to be becoming increasingly involved in the market. Although institutional market participants cannot be directly identified in trading and blockchain data, according to Ankenbrand there are certain indications of this: "Typical patterns such as larger trading volumes on business days or longer holding periods indicate a growing involvement of institutional investors in the crypto-asset market," says the co-author. "This increased interest could lend stability and credibility to the market," Ankenbrand continues.
Bitcoin is not the new gold
It has also been shown that portfolios containing both gold and Bitcoin alongside traditional investments such as equities, bonds and real estate have achieved the best risk-adjusted performance. According to the study, the statement "Bitcoin is the new gold" should therefore be questioned: "Our results indicate that Bitcoin was not a replacement for gold in the investment portfolio, but rather a supplement," says the head of the study. However, there is a catch: "Many portfolio optimization approaches are based on past developments. There is certainly still a need for further analysis here," adds Ankenbrand.
Blockchain meets cash bond
Tokenized assets are currently attracting broad interest from the financial sector. There are already tokenized bonds and shares in Switzerland that are issued and traded via regulated platforms. Unlike their USD-based counterparts, however, Swiss franc-based stablecoins have not yet been able to develop. However, ideas such as tokenized balance sheet items, such as medium-term notes, could represent new use cases.
What are crypto assets?
Crypto assets are digital representations such as claims, values or rights that are issued on a distributed ledger - such as a blockchain protocol - in the form of tokens.
About the ’Crypto Assets Study 2025 ’
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts publishes The study provides a comprehensive analysis of crypto assets and their providers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The study was supported by Finnova, Inventx, Canton Zug, SFTI/Swiss Fintech Innovations, SIX, Swiss Bankers Prepaid Services and Zürcher Kantonalbank.
