Wall Street’s slow march into digital assets may finally be reaching critical mass, with executives predicting a broad wave of adoption across trading, custody and tokenization.
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley told CNBC that “every major Wall Street institution” will be active in crypto within a year, citing data from the firm's Institutional Adoption Report showing that more than 20 of the world's largest financial groups now operate in at least one crypto segment.
That shift is no longer theoretical. IBM has launched Digital Asset Haven, a custody platform offering onchain settlement and regulatory-grade compliance tools. Citi has partnered with Coinbase to develop round-the-clock blockchain-based payment rails for institutional clients, and UK-based ClearBank has joined Circle's Payments Network, integrating access to USCD and EURC stablecoins under Europe's MiCA regime.
Each initiative pushes traditional finance deeper into digital infrastructure. IBM's entry brings enterprise security to crypto custody; Citi's partnership with Coinbase links global bank payments to blockchain settlement, and ClearBank's integration with Circle shows stablecoins crossing into regulated banking channels.
Policy tailwinds in Washington
The timing aligns with Washington's quiet but deliberate policy turn. President Trump's administration has nominated Michael Selig, a former Ripple adviser, to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. At the same time, lawmakers debate the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and GENIUS Act, both of which would expand the CFTC's authority over spot crypto and tokenised commodities.
Together, Wall Street's infrastructure build-out and Washington's regulatory shift suggest a convergence that could define the next phase of digital-asset finance.
If Horsley's forecast proves even half right, the next year may be remembered not for crypto's speculative excess, but for its arrival as part of Wall Street's operational machinery.
