Crypto has spent years on the edge of institutional adoption. According to former Acting CFTC Chair Caroline D. Pham, that waiting period is almost over.
Speaking from the New York Stock Exchange on Taking Stock, Pham said 2026 will mark the moment when crypto, tokenization, and blockchain move from testing to full-scale institutional use.
“Increased institutional adoption in crypto and blockchain technology for 2026” will depend on firms that can “scale responsibly and be compliant – especially with KYC, AML, and other important protections,” she said.
Pham, who recently transitioned to the private sector as CLO at Moonpay, pushed back on the idea that Wall Street is new to crypto. She said major financial institutions have been working behind the scenes for nearly a decade.
“Institutions have been working on blockchain technology, tokenization, and crypto as an asset class since at least 2017 – sometimes even 2016,” she explained, referencing years of pilots and internal testing across banks, asset managers, and exchanges.
What held them back wasn’t lack of interest but uncertainty.
That uncertainty began to fade over the past year, according to Pham, as U.S. regulators started sending clearer signals.
She pointed to the White House Crypto Report, the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint,” and the SEC’s “Project Crypto” as key steps that helped align crypto with existing market rules.
“The rules are technology-neutral,” Pham said. “It’s just a different format – from paper to electronic to now digital.”
In other words, crypto doesn’t need a new rulebook. It needs the old one applied properly.
Pham was clear about what separates crypto firms that scale from those that struggle.
“It is going to be those who understand how to be regulatory compliant… and who know how to be that trusted infrastructure partner to regulated institutions,” she said.
Governance, risk controls, and existing legal frameworks matter more than speed or hype.
Looking ahead, Pham said institutions will have multiple paths into crypto, rather than a single, forced model.
From futures exchanges to securities platforms and state-level frameworks, 2026 will be about “choice and access to markets.”
After years of groundwork, institutional crypto is here to stay.
Exchanges, stablecoin issuers, custodians, and tokenization platforms are most impacted, as they interface directly with banks and asset managers.
Operational risk, cross-border regulation differences, and enforcement actions could delay rollouts. Institutions move cautiously once real capital is deployed.
Agencies like the SEC and CFTC are expected to clarify enforcement boundaries while Congress debates longer-term digital asset legislation. The pace will shape market structure.
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