Nickel: AI will drive the development of the digital assets sector
AI will help drive development of the digital assets sector and play a key role in its continuing growth, according to new global research by London-based Nickel Digital Asset Management.
Its study with institutional investors and wealth managers found near-unanimous agreement that AI will help shape the asset class’s evolution. Almost all (96%) believe AI will have a positive impact on digital assets, including 26% who believe it will have a very positive impact.
Similarly, a high proportion (94%) believe AI will be important in shaping the future development of digital asset markets with 29% saying AI will be very important as digital asset markets grow.
The research with executives at firms in the US, UK, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates which collectively manage around $14 trillion in assets found AI is already playing a major role in core investment processes.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents say AI is either fully integrated (21%) or broadly deployed (43%) across investment research and risk management, demonstrating its growing role as a foundational part of infrastructure rather than a discretionary tool.
As digital asset markets mature, investors see AI’s primary value as addressing complexities and assisting with market volatility. Around a third (33%) say AI will have the most impact on risk management and stress testing as part of their investment process, while 31% say the biggest contribution will be in trading execution and market-making, where speed, scale and systematic data processing can directly influence liquidity and pricing efficiency. Less than one in ten (9%) believe AI will have the most impact on operational efficiency with 6% pointing to its potential role in idea generation, suggesting institutions are prioritisng control, resilience and market integrity over operational automation alone
However, the findings also highlight the constrains that could shape how quickly and widely AI is adopted. 78% of professional investors point to data quality and access as the primary barrier, ahead of 70% citing model explainability and governance. Lack of internal expertise is an issue for 40% while 39% are concerned about regulatory issues and cost is a concern for 36%. These barriers suggest that AI’s effectiveness within digital assets will depend on regulatory clarity, data frameworks and governance.