Traditional financial institutions are shedding their skepticism toward crypto, and the shift is accelerating in 2026.
Banks, brokerages, and exchanges are racing to offer crypto products as demand from retail investors, institutions, and wealthy clients reaches a tipping point.
David Ripley, co-CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, told Axios that “nearly all traditional financial services companies are gonna offer crypto, bitcoin, ethereum to their customers” — a development he called “a big story of 2026.”
The turning point reflects a broader collision of mega-trends reshaping financial markets. Stablecoins, tokenization, AI, and extended-hours trading are converging to create a financial system that is more digital, more global, and increasingly around the clock.
Ripley said the rise of stablecoins — blockchain-based versions of traditional assets — has primed investors for what comes next: tokenized public equities.
“The next most significant place where we see tokenized equity or tokenized assets will be public equities,” he said.
The stakes are high. Kraken recently announced plans to offer tokenized IPO shares to retail investors, targeting ordinary Americans who Ripley says have been “entirely locked out” of major wealth-creating companies until late in their growth cycles.
The IPO market itself is preparing for a historic wave. SpaceX is targeting a Nasdaq debut this week, seeking to raise about $75 billion at a $1.7 trillion valuation — which would make it the largest IPO on record.
Nasdaq CFO Sarah Youngwood told Axios the U.S. market has the depth to absorb a pipeline of trillion-dollar offerings, including OpenAI and Anthropic, without structural changes.
Nasdaq is pushing into extended-hours trading, aligning with crypto markets that never close.
Coinbase Executive: Institutions are buying
These comments to Axios come as bitcoin fights near $60,000, but its 50% decline from the all-time high have not deterred major institutional investors, according to Coinbase’s head of institutional strategy, John D’Agostino, who says sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and other large investors are actively buying the dip.
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, increased its exposure to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF for a fourth consecutive quarter, while Bitcoin ETFs collectively still hold roughly $100 billion in assets despite the market downturn.
D’Agostino attributed the selloff to a combination of macroeconomic uncertainty, elevated interest rates, regulatory delays, geopolitical tensions, and concerns sparked by Strategy’s sale of 32 BTC. Even so, he said institutions remain confident in Bitcoin’s long-term value, a view reinforced by Strategy’s subsequent purchase of 1,550 BTC for $101 million.
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