By the end of 2026, roughly half of Fortune 500 companies will maintain crypto exposure and implement formal crypto strategies, including tokenized assets, on-chain Treasuries, stablecoins, and programmable financial instruments.

The transition from crypto experimentation to full-scale production is expected in 2026, driven by trusted infrastructure and real-world utility across global finance.

An estimated 250 of the Fortune 500 will hold crypto or use blockchain-based financial instruments by year-end 2026, signaling widespread corporate adoption.

Blockchain and AI will automate treasury management, collateral optimization, and risk assessment through smart contracts, AI models, and zero-knowledge proofs, while markets proceed with caution.

An emerging pattern sees 5% to 10% of capital markets settlements moving on-chain as collateral mobility becomes a core use case.

Institutional access to crypto is expanding through capital markets, with crypto ETFs accelerating exposure, though remaining a small share of the broader market and leaving substantial growth potential.

Short-term XRP price drifted about 3% lower to around $1.90, highlighting a disconnect between daily price action and the broader infrastructure narrative behind the 2026 outlook.

The crypto and blockchain sectors have laid the groundwork for mass adoption, and blockchain is poised to become the operating layer of modern finance with rising institutional participation.

A wave of direct crypto custody by financial institutions will accelerate blockchain strategies, with AI and blockchain converging to enable real-time liquidity management, margin calls, and yield optimization via on-chain repo, safeguarded by zero-knowledge privacy for regulated markets.

Stablecoins are set to become foundational for global settlement, embedding into major payment flows with players like Visa and Stripe and enabling real-time liquidity and B2B efficiency.

Stablecoins could become the default global settlement infrastructure within five years, supported by regulatory progress and major networks, unlocking trillions in working capital.

M&A activity remained strong, with $8.6 billion in 2025 deals, and custody is expected to drive a new wave of consolidation, as about half of the top 50 banks pursue new custody agreements in 2026.