Institutions Are Quietly Bullish on Crypto

TL;DR

A Coinbase/EY survey of 361 institutional investors shows 74% expect crypto prices to rise and 73% plan to increase allocations in 2026.

Key Points

• 1.Institutional sentiment is overwhelmingly bullish. 74% of the 361 surveyed institutions expect crypto prices to rise in the next 12 months, 73% plan to increase crypto exposure, and 79% cite crypto's innovative technology as their primary investment motivation.
• 2.Regulatory clarity is now the dominant concern. 66% cited regulatory uncertainty as a top worry (up from 52%), 78% identified market structure as the area needing most clarity, and 83% believe the Genius Act will expand stablecoin engagement.
• 3.Bitcoin and Ethereum remain core holdings, but altcoin interest is growing. 94% hold BTC and 85% hold ETH; XRP shows the biggest jump with institutions holding it rising from 18% to 25%, while SOL, LINK, and BNB also feature in 2026 plans.
• 4.Custodian security priorities have dramatically shifted. Institutions prioritizing security and key signing protocols jumped from just 8% to 66% year-over-year, and regulatory compliance as a custodian factor rose from 25% to 66%, even as cost concerns fell from 49% to 7%.
• 5.Stablecoin adoption is accelerating with USDC leading. 45% of institutions currently use stablecoins and 41% plan to; USDC is held by 86% of institutional stablecoin users (up from 55%), well ahead of USDT at 68%, driven by USDC's alignment with the Genius Act.
• 6.DeFi and tokenized real-world assets represent the next growth frontier. Only 13% currently engage with DeFi but 43% plan to by 2028; 63% are very interested in tokenized assets, with 62% planning to invest in RWAs by 2027, prioritizing money market funds, corporate bonds, and government bonds.