Digital asset adoption is now moving through banks, asset managers, custodians, tokenization platforms, and crypto-native institutional arms. Leader in Digital Asset Adoption is an award category within The BeInCrypto Institutional 100, an annual research-driven program recognizing institutional digital asset excellence across 26 categories and six pillars.
This category sits in Pillar 3: Adoption & Use Cases. The long list tracks 15 firms that launched products, deployed capital, built infrastructure, or created market signals between April 2025 and March 2026. A shortlist will be named in May 2026, with the winner announced at Proof of Talk in Paris on June 2–3, 2026.
- Long list: 15 firms across banks, asset managers, custodians, tokenized funds, deposit tokens, stablecoins, and institutional crypto platforms
- Initial pool: More than 30 institutions screened; 15 advanced to the long list
- Scoring: 30% quantitative data · 50% Expert Council · 20% disclosed company data
- Criteria assessed: Strategic commitment, products launched, capital deployed, organizational investment, industry signal, forward momentum
- Data sources: SEC 13F filings, OCC approvals, MiCA-CASP authorizations, FCA, FINMA, MAS, BaFin, JFSA disclosures, audited reports, company releases, PitchBook, Tracxn, and Crunchbase
| # | Firm | Adoption Sub-Segment | HQ | Reach | Top Licensure / Live Product | Representative Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JPMorgan Chase | Bank-led tokenization | New York, USA | $4T+ assets JPMD live on Base | OCC-regulated national bank JPMD USD deposit token | Hired Oliver Harris to lead Kinexys Kinexys Fund Flow live with private bank partners |
| 2 | BlackRock | Asset manager adoption | New York, USA | $12.5T+ AUM IBIT 800K+ BTC; BUIDL $2.85B | IBIT, ETHA, ETHB BUIDL tokenized money market fund | ETHB staked Ether ETF launched Mar 2026 IBIT became a major institutional Bitcoin vehicle |
| 3 | Goldman Sachs | Tokenization platform | New York, USA | $3.1T AUM GS DAP live on Canton | SEC and FINRA registered GS DAP institutional DLT platform | Tokenized MMF platform launched with BNY GS DAP planned industry-owned spinout |
| 4 | BNY | Crypto custody | New York, USA | $55.8T AUC/A $2.5T daily payments | OCC-regulated bank Live BTC and ETH custody | Co-custodian for Morgan Stanley MSBT IBIT cash custodian and administrator |
| 5 | Fidelity Investments | Full-stack crypto adoption | Boston, USA | $15T+ AUA FBTC and FETH live | OCC conditional national trust charter Fidelity Digital Assets, NA | National trust bank charter approved Dec 2025 Plans include stablecoin and staking services |
| 6 | Morgan Stanley | Wealth crypto distribution | New York, USA | $5.5T+ wealth assets MSBT live on NYSE Arca | OCC charter pending Morgan Stanley Digital Trust filed | Franklin Crypto launched via a 250 Digital deal BENJI used as part of acquisition consideration |
| 7 | Standard Chartered | Multi-product bank adoption | London, UK | $900B assets CIB custody live in Lux and HK | FCA and multi-jurisdiction CIB HK stablecoin licence candidate | Naveen Mallela joins as the payments head Zodia Custody reportedly moving into the CIB division |
| 8 | KuCoin | Crypto-native institutional bridge | Mahé, Seychelles | 40M+ users 200+ countries | MiCAR-CASP via KuCoin EU Institutional custody integrations | Ceffu and Cactus custody integrations Asseto tokenized RWA collateral pilot |
| 9 | Citi | Tokenized deposits | New York, USA | $2.4T assets CTS live in major markets | OCC-regulated bank Citi Token Services | CTS integrated with 24/7 USD clearing Ether custody pilot completed |
| 10 | Franklin Templeton | Tokenized funds | San Mateo, USA | $1.7T+ AUM BENJI/FOBXX ~$843M | SEC-registered FOBXX EZBC and EZET live | Franklin Crypto launched via a 250 Digital deal BENJI used as part of the acquisition consideration |
| 11 | Nomura · Laser Digital | TradFi crypto subsidiary | Tokyo / Zurich | Nomura $650B AUM Komainu regulated custody JV | UAE VARA, ADGM, Switzerland OCC charter filed Jan 2026 | Laser Digital National Trust Bank application filed Komainu custody active across jurisdictions |
| 12 | HSBC | Tokenization and digital securities | London, UK | $3T+ assets Orion $3.5B+ issuance | UK DIGIT mandate HKMA stablecoin issuer licence | HSBC Orion selected for UK DIGIT pilot Cross-bank tokenized deposit transaction completed |
| 13 | DBS | Bank-backed digital exchange | Singapore | $540B assets DDEx volume up 8x in 2025 | MAS Recognised Market Operator DBS Digital Exchange | Integrated crypto into trust planning Crypto options and ETF-linked notes live |
| 14 | Société Générale · SG-FORGE | Bank-issued stablecoins | Paris, France | SocGen €1.4T assets EURCV and USDCV live | MiCA CASP authorized EUR and USD stablecoins | Issued MiCA-compliant EUR and USD stablecoins SWIFT pilot for tokenized bond settlement |
| 15 | MEXC | Tokenized RWA bridge | Seychelles | 40M+ users 13.74M MAU | 100+ Ondo tokenized stock pairs listed Gold futures reached a strong global share | 100+ Ondo tokenized stock pairs listed Gold futures reached strong global share |
About This List
The BeInCrypto Institutional 100: Digital Asset Adoption (2026 Long List) identifies institutions making productized moves into digital assets. The category focuses on banks, custodians, asset managers, asset servicers, broker-dealers, and selected crypto-native institutional arms that connect traditional finance with tokenized assets, custody, settlement, stablecoins, or regulated digital asset access.
Crypto-native firms focused mainly on exchange infrastructure, prime brokerage, market making, or trading systems are evaluated separately under Pillar 2 categories.
Methodology
This category is evaluated under Track B of the BeInCrypto Institutional 100 methodology: 30% quantitative metrics, 50% Expert Council scoring, and 20% disclosed data.
Assessment spans six weighted criteria: strategic commitment, products launched, capital deployed, organizational investment, industry signal, and forward momentum.
Data was verified using SEC 13F filings, OCC national trust bank charter approvals, MiCA-CASP authorizations, FCA, FINMA, MAS, BaFin, and JFSA disclosures, audited annual reports, company releases, and private-market sources, including PitchBook, Tracxn, and Crunchbase.
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Source: https://beincrypto.com/institutional-digital-asset-adoption-firms-2026/