Dutch investors ramp up indirect crypto exposure to $1.4B

Dutch indirect crypto investments have surged to record levels, buoyed by households, pension funds, and a small number of high-profile securities, according to new data from the Netherlands’ central bank. 

The Dutch central bank said total indirect crypto securities holdings in all sectors reached about $1.4 billion by October, an uptick from just $94 million in 2020. Despite the growth, the bank reiterated that indirect crypto investments account for only 0.03% of the Netherlands’ total securities holdings.

The analysis focused on three categories of instruments: exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded notes, and so-called crypto treasury shares. ETFs and ETNs track the price of crypto-assets, while treasury shares represent equity in companies that hold crypto-assets on their balance sheets.

Dutch household and pension funds buy DAT stocks

The central bank’s report examined only investments in securities linked to crypto-assets, not direct ownership of tokens. It also explained that the increase over the past five years came from the uptrend in valuations of the underlying assets.

Bitcoin’s price rose by 72% over the five-year period covered by the analysis, before falling to a year-on-year low towards the end of 2025. That volatility inflated the value of existing holdings, even as issuance of new crypto securities also increased, the bank said.

By the end of October 2025, Dutch households held about €182 million in crypto ETFs and €213 million in ETNs. Investment funds also had notable exposure to crypto ETFs, holding around €40 million worth. 

Pension funds acquired €287 million in such shares to become the single largest institutional group in that category. Households also held €243 million in digital asset treasury company stocks.

Dutch crypto treasuries provide investment opportunities for households

Although the number of crypto-linked securities available to Dutch investors has grown in recent years, just seven specific securities account for about 70% of all indirect crypto holdings in the Netherlands.

Last year, Dutch crypto firm Amdax raised €30 million, or about $35 million, to launch the Amsterdam Bitcoin Treasury Strategy, known as AMBTS. AMBTS is a Bitcoin treasury company with ambitions to accumulate up to 1% of the total Bitcoin supply. The firm has said it plans to use capital markets to steadily increase Bitcoin per share, with a long-term valuation target of around $26 billion at current prices.

Another DAT is Treasury BV, which raised $147 million in a private funding round led by Winklevoss Capital and Nakamoto Holdings last September. The funding allowed the company to acquire more than 1,000 Bitcoins in pursuit of becoming the largest publicly traded European bitcoin treasury, Cryptopolitan reported.

The company, led by chief executive Khing Oei, entered into a binding agreement with investment firm MKB Nedsense NV to execute a reverse listing on Euronext Amsterdam. As part of the transaction, MKB Nedsense transferred all its assets and liabilities to its largest shareholder, Value8 NV, before issuing new shares to the treasury’s investors. 

December inflation slumps to 2.8%

The expansion of indirect crypto holdings has taken place against an economic backdrop of easing inflation pressures in the Netherlands. Statistics Netherlands reported that consumer goods and services were 2.8% more expensive last December than a year earlier. That compares with a year-on-year inflation rate of 2.9% in November.

The December inflation figure matched a flash estimate published earlier in January. Month-on-month, consumer prices were virtually unchanged in December compared with November, according to the data.

Petrol prices ended the year 2.4% lower overall, but rose by 5.6 cents on January 1 after tax relief introduced following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was partially withdrawn. Diesel prices also increased, climbing by 3.6 cents as the government subsidies were rolled back.

With December figures available, Statistics Netherlands calculated average inflation for 2025 at 3.3%, meaning consumer prices were, on average, 3.3% higher than in 2024. The data were based on the consumer price index, which tracks both year-on-year and month-on-month price changes.

Using the harmonized index of consumer prices, inflation in the Netherlands stood at 2.5% year-on-year in December, down slightly from 2.6% in November. In the euro area, inflation eased from 2.1% in November to 2.0% in December.

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