- Convergence is emerging as banks adopt blockchain infrastructure and blockchains evolve to meet the needs of regulated institutions and global enterprises.
- After years of experimentation at best, but above all of hesitation, the conditions are finally ripe for institutions to take an interest in it.
- The next phase of the sector depends on clearer global standards and mature, reliable infrastructure.
A convergence of the financial system is taking shape. It’s quieter than hype cycles and far more sustainable: banks are adopting blockchain infrastructure, and blockchains are evolving based on the needs of regulated institutions and global businesses. The result is not a replacement of the old system or a wild leap to a new one – it is a convergence.
We are entering a “systemic phase,” during which core financial infrastructure is being rewired in real time. Settlement, custody, and payments are moving from batch processes to permanent rails. Stablecoins now move their value around the world in seconds, at any time, for anyone. Tokenization pilots are now in production. And the institutions shaping global finance – including wealth managers, brokerages, payments giants and banks – are all deploying digital asset capabilities at scale.
None of this will happen without a functional dialogue between banks and blockchains. Each brings assets that the other simply does not have, and neither can build the future alone.
How we got here: from experiments to infrastructure
The first wave of crypto adoption occurred entirely outside of the institutional world. Bitcoin wallets were bulky, the on-ramps were fragile, and consumers were the first to experiment. Institutions fell behind for predictable reasons: unclear rules, limited protections, and infrastructure that was not designed for regulated environments.
That changed when regulators stepped in with clearer guidelines. In the United States, early letters from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve made banks cautious. In contrast, recent actions show how banks can integrate digital assets securely and supervise them appropriately. Europe has gone further with its MiCA framework: a single licensing regime now covering 450 million people, which creates the kind of regulatory consistency that institutions need to develop multi-year strategies.
Better rules opened the door, but infrastructure providers opened it wide. Most banks are not designed to build blockchain rails from scratch – not because they lack technical talent, but because regulated companies evolve in precise steps. Infrastructure companies have become the connective tissue: custody, liquidity, on-chain transfers, compliance and settlement in a form that banks can deploy securely and programmatically.
Why institutions are moving now
After years of experimentation at best, but above all of hesitation, the conditions are finally ripe for institutions to mobilize.
1. Customer demand is now impossible to ignore
Around 55 million Americans hold cryptocurrencies today, and that number continues to climb. Data from our own platform, drawn from 6 million people across our partner network, shows that users are buying more frequently, making their first purchases more quickly, and making repeat purchases across the asset class. These are behaviors that you don’t generally see in a passing fad.
Affluent individuals are also reshaping their wealth management expectations. In our recent study, 61% already hold digital assets, but only 25% trade through their advisors. And 51% of high-net-worth investors have already withdrawn their assets from advisors who do not offer digital assets.
2. Stablecoins have become the first universal use case for blockchain
Stablecoins have become the first truly universal use case for blockchain, transforming a technical advancement into something profoundly practical. They instantly move value across borders, bypassing multiple intermediaries, with value singularity. This shift is already visible in customer behavior: lower-cost cross-border payments, real-time brokerage funding and faster merchant settlements are becoming increasingly common features of the everyday financial sector.
The data backs it up. According to data from the Zerohash platform, stablecoin deposit volume jumped 138% above the 2025 monthly average and the average deposit size increased by 51%. Users treat stablecoins as a global and instant payment method. Stablecoin adoption has become a signal of something bigger: the underlying financial rails are beginning to change.
3. Tokenization beyond the dollar is the next frontier
The idea is simple: represent other real-world assets (beyond cash) as programmable digital objects. Institutions appreciate tokenization not for the novelty, but for operational speed: instant transfer and programmability. Within banks and fintechs, tokenization is no longer considered an experiment. It’s no surprise that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently wrote a comprehensive byline for The economist on this same subject. (Disclosure: Zerohash is working with BlackRock to help power their BUIDL product with our tokenization payment rails).
What Each Party Brings to the Table
A healthy financial system depends on complementary forces. This new one is no different.
- In-depth expertise in risk management
- Mature compliance and monitoring systems
- Customer trust built over decades
- Global distribution and scale
- Programmability
- Permanent regulations
- Transparent and verifiable transaction flows
- Reduced cost structures for global and high-volume operations
Infrastructure providers like Zerohash bridge both. We provide the “practical layer” that allows institutions to operate securely on blockchain: on-chain analytics, transaction monitoring, custody, liquidity, and licensing frameworks that meet institutional requirements.
The invisible future: blockchain as a foundational infrastructure
If you zoom out, the most transformative technologies are the ones that eventually disappear. Nobody thinks about TCP/IP when they open a browser. They just expect the pages to load. No one thinks about GPS protocols when their rideshare comes up. They simply assume that the point on the map is accurate. And no one thinks about HTML or CSS when scrolling through a website. They just want the page to display instantly on any device.
Blockchain is heading towards the same invisibility. Stablecoins already offer a glimpse of this. Many platforms now allow customers to fund their accounts instantly with just one click. Users don’t choose channels, review addresses, or think about gas costs. They simply perform an account-to-account transfer, the same way they do with any other digital service.
String abstraction products make this transparent. Tokenization will follow this model. Assets will evolve more quickly. Settlement windows will shrink. Operational headaches will disappear. Customers will not care about the involvement of blockchains; they will only care that the experience is better. This is what a blended system looks like: traditional compliance frameworks adding to the programmability of blockchain, creating financial services that are faster, cheaper, and more global than existed before.
What the industry should focus on next
The next phase of the sector depends on clearer global standards and mature, reliable infrastructure.
MiCA shows how unified rules accelerate adoption, giving institutions the confidence to build at scale. Banks also need reliable infrastructure. And the user experience must remain simple: intuitive authentication, clear abstractions and smooth integration. When the front end seems easy, the underlying transformation can finally take root.
Finance is moving toward a shared future shaped by banks and blockchains working in tandem. Institutional dynamics are real and stablecoins, tokenization and digital asset rails are now part of everyday infrastructure. Customers will simply benefit from faster, more connected financial services, built on the strengths of both systems.
