Family offices turn to AI as flagship investment theme while crypto trails, says JPMorgan
Artificial intelligence has rapidly become the standout investment focus for the world’s largest family offices, sharply outpacing interest in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, according to a new survey by JPMorgan Private Bank.
The bank’s 2026 Global Family Office Report, based on responses from 333 single family offices across 30 countries collected between May and July 2025, shows a decisive tilt toward AI. Around 65% of respondents — 216 offices — either already prioritize or plan to prioritize investments tied to artificial intelligence. In stark contrast, only 17% (56 offices) identify crypto and digital assets as a key investment theme for their portfolios.
Crypto largely missing from ultra-wealthy portfolios
Despite years of hype around Bitcoin and other digital currencies, crypto remains almost absent from most family office balance sheets. JPMorgan’s data indicates that 89% of surveyed family offices currently hold no cryptocurrencies at all. On a global basis, the average allocation to crypto and digital assets is just 0.4% of portfolios, with direct exposure to Bitcoin even lower at roughly 0.2%.
This minimal positioning underscores a significant gap between narratives about institutional adoption and what ultra-wealthy families are actually doing with their capital. For most of these investors, crypto still sits at the speculative fringes rather than in the core of long-term wealth strategies.
Gold also out of favor as a hedge
The report suggests that this risk aversion is not simply anti-crypto; it extends to traditional hedging instruments as well. Even gold — historically a go‑to safe haven during periods of geopolitical and economic stress — appears to be losing its appeal. Around 72% of family offices surveyed report no exposure to gold whatsoever.
The authors of the report note that, despite elevated geopolitical tensions, family offices are largely avoiding both gold and crypto. Appetite for both traditional hedges like precious metals and newer options like digital assets remains subdued. Instead of leaning heavily on these instruments, many ultra-wealthy investors appear to be seeking resilience through diversified, long-term growth assets and robust liquidity management.
Private equity and AI-linked growth strategies in the spotlight
Within that broader context, private equity stands out as the clear favorite. Some 37% of family offices plan to increase their private equity allocations over the next 12 to 18 months, making it the most popular asset class for future capital deployment.
Growth equity and venture capital — both key channels for backing early-stage AI innovators — are also gaining attention. Although more than half of the surveyed family offices still report no current exposure to these segments, interest is rising as AI reshapes industries from healthcare and finance to logistics and manufacturing. For many wealthy families, backing AI via private markets offers a dual benefit: access to disruptive technologies and the potential for outsized long-term returns.
Regional breakdown: US-heavy, but Asia edges into crypto
Of the 333 family offices surveyed, roughly 59% (197 offices) are based in the United States. The rest are spread across Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. While the aggregate numbers show crypto as a marginal asset class, the picture is more nuanced at the regional level.
In Asia, there are emerging signs of greater comfort with digital assets among wealthy families. Previous industry reporting has highlighted that some Asian family offices have been steadily lifting their crypto exposure, at times targeting allocations of around 5% of portfolios. This trend has been particularly evident in financial hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as in mainland China, where growing client interest, higher trading volumes and new crypto-focused investment products have supported gradual adoption.
A notable example came in June, when a Hong Kong–based multi-family office managing around $4 billion announced plans to enter the crypto space for the first time, considering an allocation of up to $10 million to strategies run by a digital asset investment firm. Moves like this remain the exception rather than the rule, but they illustrate how attitudes can diverge by region and evolve over time.
Risk perception: geopolitics dominates family office concerns
When asked about the biggest risks facing their portfolios, family offices put geopolitics firmly at the top of the list. Around 20% of respondents identify geopolitical tensions as their primary concern. This reflects anxieties around fractured global supply chains, shifting alliances, economic sanctions, regional conflicts and the long-term implications for globalization and cross-border capital flows.
Liquidity and trade policy follow as the next two major concerns, each cited by 12% of respondents. Tightening financial conditions, changing regulatory frameworks and uncertainties around global trade all feed into more cautious asset allocation decisions. Close behind are worries over stretched asset valuations, slowing economic growth and the risk of portfolios becoming too concentrated in a small set of sectors or geographies.
Why AI wins and crypto lags
The stark difference between enthusiasm for AI and the reluctance toward crypto comes down to several structural factors:
1. Perceived economic utility
AI is widely viewed as a foundational technology with applications across nearly every industry. Family offices can see clear, tangible use cases: automation of business processes, improved data analytics, medical breakthroughs, personalized services and efficiency gains across entire value chains. Crypto, by contrast, is still often perceived as a volatile trading vehicle rather than a core productivity driver.
2. Regulatory clarity and institutional readiness
While AI raises ethical and regulatory questions, it is typically developed and deployed within established frameworks — public markets, private equity, venture capital and corporate R&D. Crypto and digital assets operate in a more fragmented regulatory environment, with uneven rules across jurisdictions and ongoing uncertainty about future oversight. For conservative stewards of multigenerational wealth, that uncertainty is a meaningful deterrent.
3. Reputation and risk management
Family offices tend to be highly sensitive to reputational risk. High-profile crypto market collapses and enforcement actions have reinforced perceptions of the sector as high-risk. By comparison, investing in AI via reputable funds, established tech companies or sector-focused private equity vehicles is seen as more aligned with institutional standards of due diligence and governance.
4. Time horizon and wealth preservation
Ultra-wealthy families are focused not just on growth, but also on preserving capital over decades. AI investments can be framed as long-term bets on the future shape of the global economy. Crypto, still prone to sharp boom‑bust cycles, is harder to justify as a core holding under traditional wealth preservation mandates.
How family offices are gaining AI exposure
The report implies, and market behavior confirms, that family offices are not limiting their AI investments to a single route. Common strategies include:
– Direct investments in private AI startups through venture capital funds or co‑investment deals, targeting companies building foundational models, AI infrastructure or industry-specific applications.
– Allocations to growth equity funds focused on mature technology companies commercializing AI at scale.
– Positions in public market leaders that are integrating AI into cloud services, semiconductors, enterprise software, healthcare and industrial automation.
– Thematic funds and mandates explicitly targeting AI, machine learning and data infrastructure, allowing for diversified exposure across geographies and capital structures.
This multi-channel approach allows family offices to spread risk while still capturing upside from what many view as one of the defining technologies of the coming decades.
Why most family offices still keep crypto on the sidelines
Even in regions where adoption is growing, several persistent barriers keep the majority of family offices from allocating meaningfully to digital assets:
– Volatility and drawdowns: Severe price swings undermine crypto’s appeal as a store of wealth.
– Custody and operational risk: Safekeeping digital assets, managing private keys and assessing counterparty risk in exchanges or custodians remain complex tasks.
– Regulatory uncertainty: Ongoing policy shifts and enforcement actions create a moving target for compliance-heavy institutions.
– Lack of clear portfolio role: Many family offices struggle to define whether crypto should function as a hedge, a growth asset, or a speculative satellite holding — and in what size.
Some wealth managers are experimenting with structured products, regulated funds or professionally managed crypto strategies designed to reduce these frictions. However, JPMorgan’s numbers show that such efforts are, at least for now, only slowly chipping away at entrenched caution.
What this means for the future of wealth management
The survey’s findings highlight a broader reordering of priorities among the ultra-wealthy:
– Technology, not hedges, is the growth engine: Instead of loading up on defensive assets like gold, or experimental hedges like crypto, family offices are betting on technology — especially AI — to drive long-term value creation.
– Private markets remain central: With private equity, growth equity and venture capital at the core of many strategies, access to quality deal flow and specialist managers is becoming even more crucial.
– Risk is being redefined: Rather than simply shielding wealth from volatility, family offices are focused on navigating geopolitical unpredictability, policy shifts and technological disruption — and on ensuring portfolios are robust to multiple future scenarios.
Could crypto’s role change over time?
Although current allocations are small, the story of crypto in family office portfolios is likely not finished. Several developments could shift the balance over the coming years:
– More mature regulation, providing clearer guardrails and improved investor protections.
– Institutional-grade infrastructure, offering secure custody, transparent pricing and deeper liquidity across a range of digital assets and tokenized instruments.
– Tokenization of real-world assets, which may blur the line between “crypto” and traditional finance by bringing property, credit and other asset classes onto blockchain rails.
– Intergenerational shifts in attitudes, as younger family members who are more familiar with digital assets gain greater influence over investment decisions.
For now, however, the JPMorgan report makes one point unmistakably clear: among the world’s wealthiest families, artificial intelligence is the dominant investment narrative. Crypto, despite pockets of enthusiasm and regional momentum, remains a niche allocation in the broader landscape of global family office wealth.