BitGo Prime (BTGO) and Susquehanna Crypto said they are partnering to provide institutional clients with over-the-counter (OTC) access to prediction market trades, using digital assets held on BitGo’s platform as collateral.
The offering targets hedge funds, family offices and high-net-worth investors, allowing them to transact in event-driven contracts without relying on retail platforms or converting crypto holdings into cash, the companies said in a press release Tuesday.
Liquidity will be provided by Susquehanna Crypto, with trades executed bilaterally through BitGo’s OTC desk. The firms said transactions will follow standard derivatives documentation frameworks. Investors use over-the-counter desks mainly to trade large or complex positions without disrupting the market or exposing their strategy.
The structure mirrors how institutions already trade traditional derivatives, where assets remain in custody and positions are collateralized rather than fully funded upfront. In contrast, most prediction market activity today takes place on retail platforms that require pre-funding and offer limited integration with institutional custody systems.
Institutional investors are increasingly using prediction markets as a hedging tool, taking positions on event outcomes, such as elections, policy decisions or macroeconomic shifts, to offset risks in their broader portfolios. By pricing discrete, real-world events, these markets offer a way to hedge tail risks that are difficult to capture with traditional instruments such as equities, rates, or options.
Prediction markets have seen rapid growth, with trading volumes topping roughly $40 billion–$45 billion in 2025, up several-fold year over year as retail participation surged and platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi gained traction.
At the same time, institutional interest has begun to build, with hedge funds and banks increasingly using these markets for price discovery around political and economic events, even as infrastructure and regulatory uncertainty continue to limit broader adoption.
Regulatory fragmentation has also slowed adoption. In the U.S., platforms like Kalshi operate under Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight, while others, such as Polymarket, remain offshore, limiting access for domestic institutional capital. That has pushed many firms to explore alternative structures that better align with existing compliance frameworks.
The companies said the new offering is designed to address those gaps by combining custody, collateral management and OTC execution into a single workflow. By allowing investors to trade against crypto collateral without moving assets off-platform, the model aims to bring prediction markets closer to the infrastructure institutions already use in other asset classes.
Read more: AI agents are quietly rewriting prediction market trading
The new unit will coordinate policy development and work alongside the SEC’s Crypto Task Force.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Tuesday announced the formation of an Innovation Task Force aimed at developing clearer regulatory frameworks for crypto assets, artificial intelligence, and prediction markets within U.S. derivatives markets.
“By establishing a clear regulatory framework for innovators building on the new frontier of finance, we can foster responsible innovation at home and ensure American market participants are not left on the sidelines,” Chairman Michael Selig said in a statement.
The unit will operate alongside the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee, which was formed in February and includes more than 30 executives, including Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman.
According to the agency, the task force will concentrate on crypto assets and blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and prediction markets and event contracts.
The task force will also coordinate with other federal bodies, most notably the SEC and its Crypto Task Force, as both agencies continue to align their regulatory postures.
Interagency Alignment
The announcement extends a run of coordinated action between the two regulators. Earlier this month, the SEC and CFTC signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing their commitment to jointly oversee the digital asset sector.
That MOU followed the SEC’s March 17 interpretive release — arguably its most consequential crypto guidance to date — which classified 16 major tokens, including BTC, ETH, and SOL, as digital commodities that fall outside the SEC’s jurisdiction and are under the purview of the CFTC. The CFTC said it would administer the Commodity Exchange Act consistently with that framework.
Selig had telegraphed much of this agenda at the Milken Institute on March 3, where he said the CFTC was “modernizing” its rules to accommodate DeFi protocols and on-chain market infrastructure.
Prediction Markets in Focus
The inclusion of prediction markets as a core pillar of the task force underscores the CFTC’s intensifying push to assert federal jurisdiction over the rapidly growing sector. The agency launched a sweeping review of prediction markets on March 12 via an advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
Selig has also taken a combative stance against state gaming regulators that have challenged prediction market platforms, filing a friend-of-the-court brief in February in support of Crypto.com against the Nevada Gaming Control Board and warning that the CFTC “will no longer sit idly by” while states undermine its exclusive jurisdiction.
The momentum has coincided with major commercial developments in the space. Last week, Major League Baseball named Polymarket its exclusive prediction market partner and signed its own information-sharing MOU with the CFTC — a first for a professional sports league and the derivatives regulator.
The task force also arrives days after the CFTC granted no-action relief to Phantom, allowing the self-custodial Solana wallet to connect users to derivatives trading through registered market participants without having to register as a broker.
This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.
A group of Ethereum developers has launched a resource hub focused on protecting the blockchain from future quantum computing threats and securing the billions of dollars worth of value the network secures.
The “Post-Quantum Ethereum” website, launched on Tuesday by members of the Ethereum Foundation, says the organization’s new Post-Quantum team is planning to implement quantum solutions into Ethereum at the protocol level by 2029, with solutions targeting the execution layer to follow.
While the Post-Quantum team said no imminent quantum threat exists for cryptography-secured blockchains, early action is necessary due to the complexity involved:
“Migrating a decentralized, global protocol takes years of coordination, engineering, and formal verification,” the team said. “The work must begin well before the threat arrives.”
Source: Ethereum Foundation
Concerns that quantum computers could eventually break blockchain cryptography have fueled industry-wide fear around private keys and wallet security, prompting broader debate over how the sector should prepare as the technology develops.
Most industry analysts acknowledge that quantum computing poses some level of threat to crypto. Galaxy Digital analyst Will Owens has said only crypto wallets with exposed public keys are vulnerable, while others, such as Capriole Investments’ Charles Edwards, have said all coins are at risk.
Post-Quantum team building SNARK-based signatures
Many crypto developers are focused on how quantum-safe solutions can be implemented into cryptographic signatures to fight off potential attacks.
However, some solutions are more computationally intensive and could potentially impact blockchain performance by increasing bandwidth and storage.
Quantum-proof signatures can cause other problems, impacting network performance. Source: Post-Quantum Ethereum
The Post-Quantum team is integrating SNARK, or Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge technology, in an effort to prevent the Ethereum network from experiencing these issues.
Quantum solutions will be implemented into Ethereum’s consensus, execution and data layers, the team said.
The Post-Quantum team said it would prioritize protecting standard Ethereum wallets as it believes that’s where the largest pool of value is, followed by high-value operational wallets tied to crypto exchanges, bridges and custody solutions.
It said that one of the biggest challenges will be to deploy these solutions without disrupting the network.
“Choosing a post-quantum algorithm is only part of the challenge. The harder parts include safely upgrading hundreds of millions of accounts, preventing the migration from introducing new bugs, avoiding new attack surfaces, maintaining performance, and coordinating ecosystem-wide adoption.”
Magazine: Bitcoin faces 6 massive challenges to become quantum secure
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With more enterprises interested in using AI agents that are local to their computers and on their devices, AI research lab Ai2 on Tuesday released its own open source web agent called MolmoWeb, a day after Anthropic introduced an update that gives Claude access to personal computers.
MolmoWeb is a visual web agent that automates browser tasks using multimodal AI. It is built on Ai2’s model family, Molmo 2, and is available in two sizes,4B and 8B parameters. Ai2 also released its training data set, MolmoWebMix, evaluation tools, and an inference library, so developers and researchers can self-host, fine-tune and improve the system.
MolmoWeb is similar to Anthropic’s computer use capability, which the AI Lab introduced in 2024, in that it allows the AI agent to act on behalf of users. Using computer vision, the AI agent can perceive what is happening on a user’s computer and reason through a sequence of actions to achieve the user’s goals. Anthropic on March 24 revealed that Claude Cowork and Claude Code users can now allow Claude to complete tasks. Anthropic said that Claude can point, click and navigate what is on a user’s screen to perform tasks. It can open files, use the browser, and automatically run dev tools. Users can also use Dispatch, a feature within Anthropic’s Cowork, to assign Claude tasks from their phones. The feature is available in research preview to Claude Pro and Max subscribers.
Related:Cohere, Saab Partner on Advanced AI in Aerospace
Molmo Web an Open Option
Both MolmoWeb and the Claude update highlight a trend in the AI market in which the AI agent is becoming more personal, and users are focusing on ways to put AI agents to use on their local computers. The difference between what Anthropic does and what Ai2 has produced with MolmoWeb is that one is open to the community, and the other is not.
“MolmoWeb is an innovation paradigm of computer use agents similar to the proprietary frontier model providers, but with an open approach to data sets and agents,” said Arun Chandrasekaran, an analyst at Gartner. “It lowers the barrier to entry for studying agentic behavior and understanding agent decision-making processes that are otherwise opaque.”
“This is critical for building safe systems in the future,” Chandrasekaran continued.
MolmoWeb is also an option for enterprises considering open source technology to explore AI agents, said Chris Callison-Burch, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania. Callison-Burch was a visiting research scientist at AI2 from 2023 to 2024.
Related:Fear of Missing Out is Not a Good Reason to Implement AI
“The cost to develop models is quite high, but adopting open source models is potentially a buy-in strategy for a lot of businesses,” Callison-Burch said.
He added that Ai2 generated synthetic data set MolmoWebMix that enables the AI research lab and developers using MolmoWeb to train agents.
Challenges to Computer Use
While MolmoWeb seems like a good alternative to proprietary AI agents, it also poses challenges, especially because the agent’s computer vision technology means it sees and perceives what the human does.
The research lab acknowledged that the AI agent can be thrown off track by actions such as scrolling before a web page has finished loading. It has also not been trained in tasks that require financial login, and its performance degrades with ambiguous instructions.
However, Ai2’s approach of making the data openly available will let researchers and enterprises work through the limitations and overcome them, Callison-Burch said.
The New York Stock Exchange (ICE) is teaming up with tokenization specialist Securitize to help design the infrastructure behind tokenized securities trading, according to a Tuesday press release shared with CoinDesk.
Securitize is aiming to go public this year via a SPAC deal with Cantor Equitize Partners (CEPT). CEPT shares are higher by 6% premarket. ICE shares are flat.
The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding to build NYSE’s planned Digital Trading Platform. Securitize will serve as a design partner, focusing on how transfer agents — the entities that track ownership and handle corporate actions — operate when securities are issued and settled on blockchain rails.
Securitize, backed by large asset managers like BlackRock and Ark Invest and registered with the SEC as a transfer agent, is expected to be among the first firms eligible to mint tokenized versions of stocks and ETFs on the platform, subject to regulatory approvals.
The firm’s broker-dealer arm could also take part in trading, giving it a foothold across both issuance and market activity.
The move comes as traditional exchange behemoths like NYSE and Nasdaq are doubling down on tokenization efforts to bring blockchain rails into stock trading. That tech would enable around-the-clock trading and near-instant settlements, similar to crypto markets.
Recently, NYSE-parent Intercontinental Exchange invested in crypto exchange OKX to develop tokenized stocks and derivatives products. Rival exchange Nasdaq obtained regulatory approval for its tokenized stock trading framework and has tapped Kraken to distribute stock tokens globally.
“As we explore how tokenization can enhance capital markets, it is critical that new infrastructure is developed in a way that preserves the trust, transparency, and protections investors expect,” NYSE Group President Lynn Martin said.
Read more: Here is why Nasdaq and owner of NYSE are putting the $126 trillion equity market on blockchain
OpenAI plans to shut down its Sora AI video generator just months after launching a standalone app, as the company moves to simplify its product lineup and redirect resources toward core AI systems.
We’re saying goodbye to the Sora app. To everyone who created with Sora, shared it, and built community around it: thank you. What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing.
We’ll share more soon, including timelines for the app and API and details on…
The decision also ends OpenAI’s partnership with The Walt Disney Company, which had licensed characters such as Mickey Mouse and Cinderella for use in Sora and included a $1 billion equity-based investment structure tied to the project.
Sora launched in late September as a consumer-facing app that allowed users to generate short AI videos from text prompts, remix content, and share clips in a social feed. The app quickly climbed the Apple App Store rankings before losing traction in the following months.
OpenAI will also discontinue Sora’s API, cutting off developer access to the video generation system. The company said it will provide timelines for the shutdown and guidance on preserving user-created content.
The move comes as OpenAI shifts focus toward AI agents and a new model internally referred to as Spud, which CEO Sam Altman expects to release in the coming weeks. The company is also building a unified desktop platform that combines ChatGPT, coding tools, and browsing capabilities.
Compute constraints appear to be a key factor. AI video generation requires significantly more processing power than text or image models, and OpenAI is prioritizing infrastructure and systems that can scale across broader use cases.
Sora’s underlying technology will continue as part of OpenAI’s research into world simulation, which the company sees as foundational for robotics and real-world task automation. An OpenAI spokesperson said the research team will focus on advancing systems that interact with physical environments.
The shutdown follows growing concerns around AI-generated video, including risks tied to deepfakes and misinformation. While Sora attracted early interest, it faced challenges in sustaining engagement and balancing safety considerations at scale.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
Bittensor subnet tokens’ cumulative valuation has climbed to $1.5 billion as nearly every token in the ecosystem posts double- or triple-digit 30-day gains.
Decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) protocol Bittensor’s native TAO token has rallied roughly 90% over the past month from around $180 at the start of March to above $332 as of March 24, and the momentum is spilling over into its subnet token ecosystem.
According to CoinGecko data, the Bittensor Subnets category is up 30% over the past 24 hours to a combined market capitalization of $1.47 billion, with trading volume topping $118 million. Of the subnet tokens tracked on the platform, a significant number have posted triple-digit percentage gains over the past month.
Top Subnets
What Are Subnets?
Subnets are specialized mini-networks within the Bittensor ecosystem, each dedicated to a specific AI task, ranging from language model training and decentralized compute to sports prediction and cybersecurity. Miners within each subnet compete to produce high-quality AI outputs, while validators evaluate performance and allocate TAO rewards accordingly.
Since the launch of dynamic TAO (dTAO) in February 2025, each subnet operates as its own automated market maker with a natively assigned token. The valuation of each subnet token is determined by the amount of TAO staked into that subnet’s reserves, creating a direct economic link between TAO’s price and subnet token performance. The subnet ecosystem first crossed $500 million in April 2025, and by July 2025, the cumulative subnet market cap had neared $1 billion as TAO treasury companies like xTAO and Synaptogenix emerged.
The relationship is reflexive: as TAO appreciates, each subnet’s TAO reserve becomes more valuable, inflating subnet token prices, which, in turn, attract more stakers and attention to the ecosystem.
Subnet Standouts
The TAO rally accelerated on March 20 after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and investor Chamath Palihapitiya endorsed Bittensor’s decentralized AI training model on the All-In Podcast.
That enthusiasm has cascaded into subnet tokens. τemplar (SN3) — the subnet behind the Covenant-72B model that triggered the Nvidia-fueled rally — is now the top subnet token with a $137 million market cap after rallying 444% over the past month.
Other notable 30-day performers include OMEGA Labs (SN24) at 440%, Level 114 (SN114) at 280%, BitQuant (SN15) at 230%, Nova (SN68) at 218%, and Grail (SN81) at 211%.
Even the more established subnet tokens with larger market caps have posted strong monthly returns. Chutes (SN64), which has a $132 million market cap, is up 54% over 30 days. Targon (SN4) has gained 166%, Ridges AI (SN62) is up 85%, and Hippius (SN75) has risen 115%.
The primary catalyst for the broader rally was the reveal of Covenant-72B, a large language model trained permissionlessly across Bittensor’s Subnet 3 by over 70 contributors using commodity internet hardware. The model was trained on 1.1 trillion tokens and achieved a 67.1 MMLU score, confirmed in a March 2026 arXiv paper, putting it in a competitive range with Meta’s Llama 2 70B.
The Nvidia CEO endorsed both proprietary and open-source AI models as complementary during the podcast appearance, framing foundational AI technology as benefiting from decentralized innovation.
Beta Play on Decentralized AI
The outsized returns in subnet tokens relative to TAO itself reflect a dynamic familiar to crypto markets: smaller-cap ecosystem tokens tend to act as leveraged bets on their parent protocol. With TAO’s market cap sitting at roughly $3 billion and individual subnet tokens ranging from $1 million to $110 million, the tokens offer significantly higher volatility in both directions.
Looking ahead, the Bittensor network plans to expand its active subnet capacity from 128 to 256 later this year, which could bring a fresh wave of new subnet token launches and further broaden the category.
Before the first TAO halving in December 2025, subnets had already reached a cumulative $1.28 billion market cap, with Yuma, a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, contributing to 14 different subnets. A potential regulatory decision on converting the Grayscale TAO Trust into a spot ETF could also provide additional institutional access by late 2026.
For now, the surge in subnet tokens signals that market participants are betting the decentralized AI narrative has staying power, and that Bittensor’s expanding network of specialized AI subnets will be at its center.
Bitcoin BTC$70,738.82 has likely found its bottom and is primed for further gains, Wall Street broker Bernstein said in a Tuesday note to clients, reiterating its $150,000 year-end price target.
“We believe Bitcoin has found its trough and is now heading higher,” wrote analysts led by Gautam Chhugani. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading around $71,000 at publication time.
The broker also maintained its bullish view on bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR), calling it a high-beta proxy for bitcoin with a “resilient, liquid and pressure-tested” balance sheet. The firm, led by Executive Chairman Michael Saylor, holds roughly 3.6% of the total bitcoin supply, worth about $53.5 billion.
Bernstein has an outperform rating on Strategy with a $450 price target. The shares were unchanged in early trading, around $138.10.
The analysts also highlighted growing demand for Strategy’s preferred instrument, STRC, which offers an 11.5% monthly dividend with low volatility.
STRC’s perpetual structure helps reduce equity dilution while providing long-term capital, with trading volumes rising 65% over the past three months, the report noted.
Bitcoin’s recent pullback comes after a sharp run-up to record highs in late 2025, with prices falling as much as 45% from the peak amid a mix of macro and market-driven pressures. Analysts point to a higher-for-longer interest rate backdrop, geopolitical risk tied to the Middle East and intermittent exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows weighing on risk appetite.
The unwind of leveraged positions and profit-taking by long-term holders accelerated the decline, triggering bouts of forced liquidations and adding to volatility.
Despite the scale of the correction, Bernstein analysts characterized the move as a temporary reset in sentiment rather than a breakdown in fundamentals, noting the absence of systemic stress typically seen in prior crypto downturns.
On the macro side, the analysts noted bitcoin has outperformed gold by 25% since the onset of the Iran conflict at the end of February, underscoring the cryptocurrency’s appeal as a portable, censorship-resistant asset during periods of geopolitical stress.
Institutional demand remains a key driver. The broker pointed to resilient ETF flows and increasing participation from banks offering bitcoin-related financial services.
Read more: Bitcoin’s quantum threat is real, but far from an existential crisis, Galaxy says
Bitcoin (BTC) holders are gradually becoming less prone to panic selling and instead building up cash buffers to deploy during discounted BTC buying opportunities. Onchain data supports this view, highlighting a large surge in stablecoin activity, with USD Coin (USDC) and Tether’s USDt (USDT) transfers reaching a combined $440 billion on March 22.
This shift in investor behavior aligns with the increasing risk-off approach seen in markets as the United States Federal Reserve dismissed near-term interest rate cut expectations, amid rising energy prices due to the ongoing US and Israel-Iran war.
Bitcoin realized volatility expands, but investors are cool headed
Bitcoin’s recent price action highlights a volatile market. It dropped 3.75% to $67,300 on Sunday before rebounding above $71,700 on Monday, with the move largely driven by news around the US and Israel-Iran war.
As a result, BTC’s realized volatility, which measures how much the price has actually moved over a given period, remains elevated across multiple time frames. The three-month and six-month realized volatility measures have climbed to 107% and 148%, respectively, up from 60% and 94.5% over the past six months.
BTC realized volatility. Source: CryptoQuant
However, the long-term one-year realized volatility has remained unchanged near 180% during this period. That suggests the market isn’t in full panic mode, and it is dealing with uncertainty without widespread forced selling.
Stablecoin flows provide important context for this environment. On March 22, the total number of USDC tokens transferred surged to 368 billion, marking a roughly 2,081% daily increase to an all-time high, while USDT transfers on the Ethereum network reached 72 billion.
BTC price, USDC, and USDT token transferred chart. Source: CryptoQuant
These stablecoin flows point to a rapid capital rotation and repositioning. The market participants are actively moving funds into stablecoins as a temporary store of value, creating a “cash buffer” that can be redeployed quickly.
This dynamic often emerges in volatile conditions, where traders may prioritize monitoring the price over high exposure.
Related: What happens to Bitcoin if US bond yields soar above 5%?
Spot and futures activity remain below bull market highs
Futures data further reinforces the current sidelined sentiment. BTC open interest (in USD) is down $19 billion over the past six months, indicating a steady reduction in leveraged exposure. This unwind reflects a market that is de-risking rather than building aggressive positions.
BTCUSDT, aggregated open interest, and funding rate. Source: velo.data
Aggregated funding rates have cooled to 0.01% from overheated levels near 0.1% in July-August 2025, occasionally flipping negative, while the perpetual futures premium continues to trade at a discount to spot.
Together, these signals point to subdued leverage demand and a market lacking strong directional conviction, with a slight bearish tilt.
The spot market activity paints a similar picture. Cointelegraph reported that Binance is on track to record its lowest monthly spot volume since September 2023, with volumes hovering near $52 billion.
The current participation levels align more closely with periods of reduced engagement seen during prior bear market cycles in 2022-2023.
Thus, the crypto market has strong liquidity, with capital actively moving through stablecoins, but it isn’t being deployed into Bitcoin yet, and BTC holders continue to observe the current market.
Related: Bitcoin value ‘off the chart’ as BTC price metric hits record lows in 2026
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Institutional investors aren’t just betting on ‘number go up’ strategy for crypto anymore, they are shifting to hunting for steady sources of income from major digital assets.
Many institutions already hold bitcoin BTC$70,642.34 and ether (ETH) on their balance sheets. While they are holding these assets for the long-term price appreciation, investors are increasingly seeking to put them to work to earn income while waiting, said Brett Tejpaul, Coinbase’s (COIN) head of institutional, in an interview with CoinDesk, noting that this is how the next phase of institutional money entering the digital asset sector will look.
“The second wave of institutions… is underway. It’s happening.”
That shift is shaping a new wave of products, he said. Coinbase last week launched a tokenized share class of its Bitcoin Yield Fund on Base in partnership with Apex Group, a $3.5 trillion fund services provider. The fund aims to generate yield through strategies such as selling call options or lending bitcoin, with target returns in the mid-single digits, depending on market conditions.
The push for yield is not limited to just crypto-native firms.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has also moved in this direction. The firm recently launched the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), giving investors exposure to rewards generated by helping secure the network. The product signals that demand for yield-bearing crypto strategies is spreading across traditional finance.
This is a similar strategy to what traditional investors call ‘structured products.’ These financial instruments include assets with options that are designed to deliver certain returns or yields. With many options and yield-generating strategies now available in the digital assets sector, traditional investors are seeking similar products in crypto, especially as lawmakers set clearer regulations for the sector.
Read more: Regulation, derivatives helping drive TradFi institutions into crypto
Moving money faster
This “second wave” of institutional money is also focusing on how to use blockchain technology for payments, settlements, cost and transparency.
The structure reflects a broader trend: tokenization. By putting fund shares onchain, asset managers can make ownership easier to track and transfer while opening the door to round-the-clock markets. For institutions used to waiting days for settlement, the appeal is practical.
He said almost half the conversations with institutions right now include stablecoins and tokenization, pointing to a surge in interest following recent regulatory movement in the U.S. Large financial firms are exploring how to use blockchain systems to move money faster and at lower cost, especially across borders.
That interest is gaining momentum as policymakers move to set clearer rules. The passage of the GENIUS Act has already provided a framework for stablecoins, while the proposed CLARITY Act is expected to further define how digital assets and tokenized products can be issued and traded. Together, they are giving institutions more confidence to commit capital and build products tied to blockchain-based systems.
The appeal is straightforward. Tokenization allows traditional assets such as bonds, funds, and private credit to be represented onchain, enabling faster movement and quicker settlement. Stablecoins, often pegged to fiat currencies, offer a way to move value globally at low cost without relying on legacy payment rails.
Some of the largest firms in traditional finance are already moving in this direction. BlackRock has launched a tokenized Treasury fund, while JPMorgan has tested tokenized deposits and blockchain-based payments. Franklin Templeton has also brought tokenized money market funds onchain, signaling growing comfort with the model among asset managers.
As a result, both traditional financial institutions and crypto-native firms are racing to build or integrate stablecoin infrastructure, seeing it as a foundation for the next phase of financial markets.
This is directly tied to what Tejpaul called the ‘second wave’ of institutional money entering crypto. The first wave of institutional money came from hedge funds, endowments and wealthy investors seeking exposure or arbitrage. But this next group looks different. It includes banks and payments firms building products on top of crypto rails.
That shift ties closely to yield. Stablecoins, often backed by short-term government debt, can produce income streams that resemble traditional cash management products. Tokenized funds extend that idea to a wider set of assets.
At the same time, institutions are paying closer attention to market structure. Around-the-clock trading and near-instant settlement are becoming part of the pitch, with the two largest stock exchanges in the U.S., the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, soon bringing 24/7 trading to their clients. In traditional markets, trades can take days to settle, leaving capital tied up and exposed to counterparty risk.
Blockchain-based systems aim to reduce that friction, thereby increasing transparency and lowering costs.
“People want to know where their capital is at all times, and they don’t want it to be in transit or be lost in the settlement process,” Tejpaul said.
Still, adoption is uneven.
Most institutional capital remains concentrated in a small set of major tokens, with limited appetite for smaller assets after recent market volatility. And large firms tend to move slowly, often taking years to evaluate new technologies.
But the direction is becoming clearer. Institutions are no longer asking only how to buy crypto. They are asking what it can do for their portfolios and their businesses. And with more regulations coming to clear that path, it will likely open the door to more institutional money in the future.
“All of a sudden, all the dots are connecting… what was opaque is becoming clear,” Tejpaul said.
