European asset managers are watching a generational shift in real time. In the European Central Bank’s survey of payment attitudes, adults aged 25–39 were the most likely group to own crypto-assets, and crypto ownership in the euro area rose from 4% in 2022 to 9% in 2024, even as overall adoption remained relatively low. Demand rarely stays ‘low’ once a cohort treats an instrument as normal portfolio real estate. Asset managers need a crypto process that treats venue selection as part of portfolio governance.

Distribution pressure sits behind the governance shift. Younger investors already treat crypto as a normal part of personal balance sheets, and they increasingly want exposure through familiar wrappers, mandates…