BeInCrypto Institutional Research: 15 Firms Leading Digital Asset Adoption

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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