High-net-worth clients across Asia are gradually pivoting away from US dollar-based investments, favoring gold, cryptocurrencies and Chinese assets instead, according to financial services giant UBS Group.

“Gold is getting very popular,” Amy Lo, the Swiss bank’s co-head of wealth management for Asia, said during Bloomberg’s New Voices event held in Hong Kong on May 13.

She cited rising geopolitical uncertainty and persistent market volatility as primary factors behind the shift. Investors, traditionally concentrated in US-centric assets, are now seeking broader exposure across alternative asset classes, including crypto, commodities and other currencies.

Lo said “volatility is definitely here to stay,” prompting clients to rebalance toward perceived safe havens and growth opportunities in new regions.

China, after years of muted interest, is also regaining traction among the ultra-wealthy. Lo noted that clients who previously avoided exposure to China are now proactively asking about investment opportunities.

Hong Kong’s benchmark index, heavily composed of Chinese companies, has emerged as one of the world’s top performers in 2024, further fueling interest.

Hong Kong Stock Market Index. Source: Trading Economics

Bank of America’s latest fund manager survey also shows that global fund managers significantly reduced their exposure to the US dollar in May, marking the largest underweight position in 19 years.

Related: US Bitcoin reserve vs. gold and oil reserves: How do they compare?

US-China tariff truce sparks investor optimism

Christina Au-Yeung, head of Investment Management Services at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Asia, told Bloomberg that a recent tariff truce between the US and China has created renewed investor optimism.

“We are seeing an emergence of really interesting themes coming back out in China,” she said.

Au-Yeung also pointed to a growing risk-aware mindset among Asia’s wealthiest clients. The firm now recommends a balanced portfolio allocation, including 40% fixed income, 40% equities, 15% alternatives and the remainder in cash or equivalents.

On May 11, the US and China announced an agreement to temporarily reduce tariffs on each other’s goods. As per the deal, the US will lower tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce duties on American goods from 125% to 10%.

Related: Bitcoin acts like ‘store of value that it is’ amid Trump policy chaos: NYDIG

Bitcoin viewed as a store of value

In a recent note, Galaxy Digital analysts said Bitcoin is increasingly being viewed as a digital store of value, noting growing interest from institutions, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and even governments.

“Bitcoin’s supply and demand dynamics are solidifying its place as a mature digital store of value,” said Ian Kolman, co-portfolio manager at Galaxy.

Supporting this view, BlackRock’s head of thematics and active ETFs, Jay Jacobs, noted on April 25 that nations are increasingly diversifying away from US dollar reserves, turning instead to assets like gold — and now, Bitcoin (BTC) — as part of a broader shift in reserve strategy.

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed back its decision on a proposed spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF), with the cryptocurrency industry now looking to the deadlines for the Polkadot and XRP-based ETFs in June.

The SEC pushed its decision on listing Grayscale’s spot Solana (SOL) Trust ETF on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to October 2025, according to a May 13 filing by the securities regulator.

Delay on Grayscale’s Solana ETF. Source: SEC

The decision came the week after the SEC delayed its ruling on Canary Capital’s Litecoin (LTC) ETF, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart wrote in a May 5 X post.

Source: James Seyffart

Spot ETFs are viewed as key drivers of liquidity and institutional adoption for digital assets. For Bitcoin (BTC), the US spot Bitcoin ETFs accounted for an estimated 75% of new investment after launching, which helped BTC recapture the $50,000 mark in February 2024, a month after the ETFs debuted for trading.

While a Solana ETF may generate only a fraction of the inflows of Bitcoin ETFs, it could increase Solana’s institutional adoption in the long term by offering investors a “regulated investment vehicle” that may still attract billions of dollars in capital, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, told Cointelegraph.

Related: Solana co-founder proposes meta chain to fix blockchain fragmentation

Despite the latest delay by the SEC, the majority of investors are optimistic about the approval of a SOL ETF before the end of 2025.

Odds of a Solana ETF approved by Dec. 31, 2025. Source: Polymarket

Investors are predicting an 82% chance for a SOL ETF approval and an 80% chance for a Litecoin ETF approval before the end of the year, according to data from Polymarket, the largest decentralized betting platform.

Related: $1B Bitcoin exits Coinbase in a day as analysts warn of supply shock

Polkadot, XRP, DOGE ETFs await SEC decision in June

Several other crypto ETF applications are approaching SEC deadlines in June.

The SEC will decide on Grayscale’s Polkadot (DOT) ETF by June 11, and 21Shares’ Polkadot ETF on June 24, according to a court filing from the SEC.

On June 17, the SEC is set to make a decision on Franklin Templeton’s spot XRP (XRP) ETF and Bitwise’s spot Dogecoin (DOGE) ETF, official filings show.

However, those decisions may also be delayed. The SEC typically takes full advantage of its 240-day review period when evaluating crypto-related financial products, as seen in its handling of the Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) ETF applications in 2023 and 2024.

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Decentralized settlement protocol Kima has integrated into Mastercard’s sandbox program, enabling stablecoin-powered top-ups for prepaid cards directly from self-custody wallets.

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Mastercard partners can now rely on Kima’s settlement infrastructure to enable their prepaid cards to be topped up with stablecoins, including USDC (USDC) and Tether’s USDt (USDT), from self-custody wallets across more than 10 blockchains.

Kima CEO Eitan Katz said the integration shows that stablecoins can be practical for everyday use, removing friction and intermediaries from crypto-to-fiat conversions while expanding crypto usability.

“Our goal at Kima is to eliminate barriers between digital assets and traditional finance,” Katz said.

Related: Mastercard tokenized 30% of its transactions in 2024

Infrastructure designed for interoperability

Katz described Kima’s settlement system as asset-agnostic and designed to simplify cross-ecosystem payments, supporting public blockchains, private ledgers and traditional banking rails:

“Kima’s asset-agnostic settlement layer is designed to abstract the complexity of transferring value across disparate ecosystems, whether that’s public blockchains, private ledgers, or even traditional banking systems.”

According to the announcement, Kima’s infrastructure is aligned with Mastercard’s aim to bring stablecoins into mainstream financial usage. Katz rejects the Bitcoin and crypto hardliner vision of digital assets being contraposed to fiat currency, claiming that “crypto and fiat must coexist seamlessly to reach their full potential.”

Katz explained that Kima’s solution allows easy crosschain interoperability and eliminates reliance on intermediaries, custodians or complex smart contracts. This, in turn, reportedly enhances security and efficiency for all parties involved.

Related: Mastercard links with Circle, Paxos for merchant stablecoin payments

ECB includes Kima in digital euro initiative

Earlier in May, the European Central Bank (ECB) included Kima in a list of 70 private sector partners tasked with helping in digital euro innovation. The firms on the list have signed up to work with the ECB to explore digital euro payment functionalities and use cases.

“The breadth and creativity of the proposals highlights the digital euro’s potential as a catalyst for financial innovation in Europe,” ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said at the time.

Source: Kima

Despite Kima’s institutional partnerships, Katz told Cointelegraph that “compliance shouldn’t mean giving up control of your funds or your data.” He said that know-your-client and Anti-Money Laundering checks are handled by third-party banks and virtual asset service providers at onboarding, and Kima never has access to the data.

Katz added that “once a user is cleared, every transaction carries immutable metadata tags that our protocol-level engine checks against local rules.” This, he said, covers compliance “from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation to Singapore’s regulatory guidelines — before settlement.”

Katz said that “keys are kept entirely under the users’ control,” while cryptographic proofs still allow for compliance.

“Institutions get a plug-and-play control layer and users enjoy true self-custody,” Katz added.

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