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Crypto Evolves: From Experiment to Financial Infrastructure
10 Dec
Summary
- Digital assets are becoming core financial infrastructure, not just experiments.
- Hybrid finance sees crypto rails merging with traditional finance systems.
- Bitcoin ETFs have seen over $90 billion in inflows; corporations hold 1M+ BTC.
Digital assets are rapidly evolving from speculative ventures to integral components of the global financial infrastructure. Investment firm CoinShares' 2026 Digital Asset Outlook forecasts a significant shift by 2026, characterized by the "convergence" of cryptocurrencies and traditional finance, a concept they term "hybrid finance." This integration involves merging established financial systems with public blockchain technology to create a new framework for market operations.
The report highlights growing institutional adoption, citing the increasing use of stablecoins and the burgeoning market for tokenized assets, including private credit, U.S. Treasuries, funds, and deposits. Bitcoin's journey toward mainstream acceptance is further underscored by over $90 billion in inflows into U.S. spot exchange-traded funds and substantial holdings by corporations, amounting to over one million BTC across 190 companies. This trend is expected to expand with greater accessibility through wealth platforms and retirement accounts.
Looking ahead, the competitive landscape for providing settlement layers for this hybrid financial system is intensifying, with Ethereum maintaining a strong position despite growing challenges. The report also notes significant regulatory divergence globally and structural shifts, such as the involvement of crypto miners in high-performance computing and AI infrastructure, and the increasing relevance of prediction markets.
