Institutional Crypto Sentiment Softens Despite US Regulatory Optimism

According to the CfC St. Moritz 2026 Report, the prevailing sentiment among the 242 global attendees has moderated to 68%, down from 73% in 2025. This cooling reflects a transition from speculative interest toward the technical and regulatory integration of digital assets into traditional financial plumbing.

The most notable development in the report is the resurgence of the US as a favoured jurisdiction. Following years of being ranked as the least favourable environment, the US has climbed to second place, trailing only the UAE. 

The shift is largely attributed to the legislative progress of the GENIUS Act and the CLARITY Act, which have provided the structural certainty required for large-scale capital entry. Conversely, the UK and the EU have seen their standings decline, as investors signal that complex regulatory frameworks like MiCA have yet to trigger a significant increase in onchain activity.

Stress test for market depth

Despite the general optimism about regulation, the memory of the 10 Oct 2025 market contraction remains a concern. 

The event, which saw $19bn in forced liquidations within hours, was characterized by participants as a failed stress test for the industry. DRW founder Don Wilson noted that the spiral exposed significant liquidity gaps and the fragility of current auto-deleveraging mechanisms.

Wilson argued that the industry must now focus on the convergence of energy, artificial intelligence and crypto. He predicted that computing power will become a more vital global commodity than crude oil, with onchain markets providing the necessary settlement layer for this new economy. 

This intersection of high-performance computing and decentralized finance is expected to be the primary driver of institutional infrastructure investment through the remainder of the decade.

Tokenization moves to core business

The report also highlights a definitive move away from blockchain pilot projects. 

Approximately 83% of respondents expect an acceleration in the migration of real-world assets onchain. Major financial institutions, including Apollo and BNY, are no longer treating digital assets as a peripheral experiment but are integrating tokenization into their core business units.

Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson described blockchain as the eventual "infrastructure of financial services," suggesting that the technology will be essential for managing global collateral. With estimates suggesting that tokenized private credit and other assets could unlock trillions in currently idle capital, the focus has shifted entirely to execution. 

The message from St. Moritz is that the merger between traditional and digital finance is now a matter of technical implementation rather than ideological debate.