Last year the institutional foundation of cryptocurrencies was restored. This year, according to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), is when it is most integrated into the financial system.
Regulatory clarity improved in 2025, institutional commitment accelerated and capital markets reopened. Attention is now shifting from price cycles to infrastructure as digital assets become more deeply integrated into payments, custody, treasury management and capital markets.
“Regardless of how tangible or visible, all the forces shaping cryptocurrencies today share a common thread: cryptocurrencies are moving from expectations to production. Pilot programs are scaling and capital is being consolidated,” Anthony Vassallo, senior vice president of cryptocurrencies at SVB, told CoinDesk in an interview.
The bank, which maintains more than 500 relationships with crypto firms and venture firms investing in the sector, says institutional capital, consolidation, stablecoins, tokenization and artificial intelligence are converging to reshape the way money moves.
After its collapse in 2023, SVB was purchased by North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank and now operates within a top 20 US bank with $230 billion in assets. In 2025, it added 2,100 clients and ended the year with $108 billion in total client funds and $44 billion in loans.
Less experiments, more conviction
“Suits and ties have arrived,” according to the bank’s 2026 outlook report.
Venture funding in US crypto companies increased 44% last year to $7.9 billion, according to PitchBook data cited by SVB. While the number of deals fell, the average check size rose to $5 million as investors focused capital on stronger teams. Seed valuations are up 70% from 2023 levels.
The bank warns that demand for institutional-grade crypto companies could exceed the number of investable companies.
“In 2026, conditions are ripe for continued growth in venture capital investment in cryptocurrencies. As institutional adoption accelerates, driving greater venture capital controls, we expect continued concentration of capital in fewer companies with investors prioritizing higher quality projects and follow-through on proven teams,” Vassallo said.
“For end users, the result will be a more seamless experience in everyday financial interactions, from sending cross-border payments to managing an investment portfolio.”
Corporate balance sheets are reinforcing the change. At least 172 public companies owned bitcoins in the third quarter of 2025, 40% more than in the second, collectively controlling approximately 5% of the circulating supply, according to data referenced by SVB.
A new class of digital asset treasury companies has emerged, companies that treat cryptocurrency accumulation as a core strategy. The bank expects consolidation as regulations tighten and volatility tests business models.
Meanwhile, traditional banks are increasingly entering the sector. JPMorgan, the largest US bank by assets, plans to accept bitcoin and ether as collateral, Bloomberg reported last year. SoFi Technologies offers direct trading of digital assets. US Bank provides custody through NYDIG. SVB expects more institutions to implement lending, custody and settlement products as compliance barriers solidify.
Mergers and acquisitions and the race towards full-stack cryptocurrencies
Why build when you can buy?
More than 140 venture-backed crypto companies were acquired in the four quarters ending in September, a 59% year-over-year increase, according to the bank’s analysis of PitchBook data. Coinbase’s $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit and Kraken’s $1.5 billion purchase of NinjaTrader underscored the scale.
The trend extends to banking statutes. In 2025, 18 companies applied for charters to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), most of them blockchain-enabled companies. The OCC granted conditional approval to digital asset-focused fiat banks, including custody provider BitGo (BTGO), Circle Internet (CRCL), the company behind the second-largest stablecoin, trading platform Fidelity Digital Assets, stablecoin issuer Paxos, and payments network Ripple.
For SVB, that marks a turning point: the stablecoin and custody infrastructure move within the federal banking perimeter. The bank hopes traditional financial institutions will accelerate trading rather than risk being disrupted by vertically integrated crypto-native rivals.
“We expect mergers and acquisitions to set a record again in 2026. As the capabilities of digital assets
become a stake in financial services, companies will focus on acquisition strategies rather than building products from scratch,” Vassallo says.
“To meet market demands, ranging from stablecoin capabilities to full-fledged crypto banks, exchanges, custodians, infrastructure providers and brokers will consolidate into multi-product companies,” he said.
Stablecoins Become the ‘Internet Dollar’
Stablecoins, SVB said, are evolving from trading tools to digital cash.
With near-instant settlement and lower transaction costs than ACH interbank transfer system or card networks, dollar-backed tokens are attractive for treasury operations, cross-border payments, and business-to-business settlements.
Regulatory clarity is accelerating adoption. The US GENIUS Act, passed in July, established federal standards for the issuance of stablecoins, including 1:1 reserve support and monthly disclosures. Similar frameworks exist in the EU, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
Starting in 2027, only permitted entities, such as banks or approved non-banks, will be able to issue compatible stablecoins in the US. SVB expects issuers to spend in 2026 aligning products with federal oversight.
Banks are already experimenting. Société Générale introduced a euro stablecoin. JPMorgan expanded JPM Coin to public blockchains. A group including PNC, Citi and Wells Fargo is exploring a joint token initiative.
Venture dollars follow. Investment in companies focused on stablecoins rose to more than $1.5 billion in 2025, up from less than $50 million in 2019, according to SVB.
In 2026, the bank expects tokenized dollars to move into core business systems, integrated into treasury workflows, collateral management and programmable payments.
Tokenization and AI
Tokenization of real-world assets is increasing. On-chain representations of cash, Treasury bonds and money market instruments surpassed $36 billion in 2025, according to data cited by the bank.
BlackRock (BLK) and Franklin Templeton funds have accumulated hundreds of millions in assets, settling flows directly on-chain. ETF issuers and asset managers are testing blockchain-based wrappers to reduce transfer costs and enable intraday settlement. Robinhood (HOOD) has now tokenized stock exposure for European users and plans to expand in the US.
SVB sees public and private markets converging into shared settlement pathways, with tokenization expanding beyond Treasuries into private markets and consumer-facing applications.
Then there is the convergence with AI. In 2025, 40 cents of every risk dollar invested in cryptocurrencies went to companies that also made artificial intelligence products, up from 18 cents a year earlier, according to SVB analysis. Startups are creating agent-to-agent trading protocols and major blockchains are integrating AI into wallets.
Autonomous agents capable of transacting in stablecoins could allow machines to negotiate and settle payments without human intervention. Blockchain-based verification and provenance tools are being developed to address the trust deficit of AI.
The impact on the consumer can be subtle. SVB predicts that next year’s emerging apps will not qualify as crypto. They will look like fintech products, with stablecoin settlement, tokenized assets, and AI agents operating silently in the background.
From expectation to infrastructure
Silicon Valley Bank’s overall message is to treat cryptocurrencies as infrastructure.
Pilot programs are scaling. Capital is concentrating. The banks are coming in. Regulators are defining the perimeter. Blockchain technology is poised to support treasury operations, collateral flows, cross-border payments, and parts of the capital markets.
Volatility will remain and headlines will continue to move prices. But the deeper narrative, the bank argues, is about the pipelines.
“In 2025, the momentum of on-chain representations of cash, Treasuries, and money market instruments brought real-world assets into the financial mainstream,” Vassallo said. “This year, cryptocurrencies will be treated as infrastructure.”
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