Ex-CFTC Acting Chair: 2026 Marks the Year Institutions Go All-In on Crypto

Wall Street's waiting game is over—the floodgates are officially open.

For years, institutional money hovered at the crypto periphery, dipping a toe with a Bitcoin ETF or a cautious venture fund. That era of hesitation is now a relic. According to a former top U.S. derivatives regulator, 2026 isn't just another year on the calendar; it's the tipping point where major financial players stop testing the waters and dive into the deep end.

The Infrastructure Shift

The move isn't about fleeting hype. It's driven by a critical mass of regulatory clarity and institutional-grade infrastructure finally coming online. Custody solutions that satisfy compliance teams, execution venues that handle billion-dollar orders without moving the market, and clear tax frameworks have removed the last major roadblocks. The plumbing is installed, and the capital is ready to flow.

From Allocation to Integration

This isn't merely about adding a 1% crypto 'lottery ticket' to a balanced portfolio. The shift is toward full integration. Think treasury reserves moving on-chain, tokenized real-world assets settling in seconds, and derivatives books that seamlessly blend digital and traditional collateral. The old walls between 'crypto' and 'finance' are crumbling into obsolescence.

A cynical observer might note that institutions finally embraced crypto just as the original 'decentralize everything' ethos got a corporate makeover—but hey, progress often wears a suit.

The legacy financial system, built on layers of intermediaries each taking their cut, now faces its most efficient competitor yet. The institutions aren't just coming. They're rebuilding the system from the inside out.

Crypto has spent years on the edge of institutional adoption. According to former Acting CFTC Chair Caroline D. Pham, that waiting period is almost over.

Speaking from the New York Stock Exchange on Taking Stock, Pham said 2026 will mark the moment when crypto, tokenization, and blockchain MOVE from testing to full-scale institutional use.

“Increased institutional adoption in crypto and blockchain technology for 2026” will depend on firms that can “scale responsibly and be compliant – especially with KYC, AML, and other important protections,” she said.

Institutions Have Been Preparing for This Moment

Pham, who recently transitioned to the private sector as CLO at Moonpay, pushed back on the idea that Wall Street is new to crypto. She said major financial institutions have been working behind the scenes for nearly a decade.

“Institutions have been working on blockchain technology, tokenization, and crypto as an asset class since at least 2017 – sometimes even 2016,” she explained, referencing years of pilots and internal testing across banks, asset managers, and exchanges.

What held them back wasn’t lack of interest but uncertainty.

Regulatory Clarity Changed the Timeline

That uncertainty began to fade over the past year, according to Pham, as U.S. regulators started sending clearer signals.

She pointed to the WHITE House Crypto Report, the CFTC’s “Crypto Sprint,” and the SEC’s “Project Crypto” as key steps that helped align crypto with existing market rules.

“The rules are technology-neutral,” Pham said. “It’s just a different format – from paper to electronic to now digital.”

In other words, crypto doesn’t need a new rulebook. It needs the old one applied properly.

Compliance Will Decide Who Wins

Pham was clear about what separates crypto firms that scale from those that struggle.

“It is going to be those who understand how to be regulatory compliant… and who know how to be that trusted infrastructure partner to regulated institutions,” she said.

Governance, risk controls, and existing legal frameworks matter more than speed or hype.

Why 2026 Is About Choice

Looking ahead, Pham said institutions will have multiple paths into crypto, rather than a single, forced model.

From futures exchanges to securities platforms and state-level frameworks, 2026 will be about “choice and access to markets.”

After years of groundwork, institutional crypto is here to stay.