Crypto’s Institutional Revolution: Stablecoins Lead Maturation Wave Says A16z
Wall Street's playing catch-up while crypto builds the future.
The New Digital Foundation
Stablecoins aren't just tokens anymore—they're becoming the plumbing of global finance. Institutions finally waking up to what crypto natives knew years ago: digital assets work better, faster, cheaper.
Mainstream Money Moves In
Hedge funds allocating real capital. Corporations adding crypto to balance sheets. Asset managers launching dedicated funds. The smart money's not just dipping toes—they're diving headfirst into digital waters.
Regulatory Reality Check
Sure, compliance departments are having collective heart attacks. But the infrastructure's maturing faster than regulators can write rules. Sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission—especially when you're building the future.
Traditional finance still thinks in quarterly earnings while crypto builds for the next decade. The institutions finally get it: adapt or become irrelevant.
Stablecoins rivals Visa
Stablecoins have achieved product-market fit, powering over $46 trillion in annual transactions, comparable to Visa. Circle’s IPO and rising SEC mentions highlight growing institutional recognition. At the same time, blockchain throughput has surpassed 3,400 TPS, a 100x increase in five years, enabling efficient onchain applications.
The report highlights the growing overlap between AI and crypto, with use cases like identity verification and agent-based finance. a16z also introduced a dashboard tracking metrics such as wallet usage, ETF flows, builder activity, and stablecoin volume.
Institutional crypto custody
The findings align closely with recent moves by Citibank, which announced it will launch an institutional-grade crypto custody platform in 2026. The platform will target stablecoins and crypto ETFs, capitalizing on new regulatory clarity following the rescission of SEC rule SAB 121.
Citi plans to use its existing infrastructure, including tokenized dollar rails and CIDAP labs, to support cross-border digital asset services.
As a16z notes, “2025 is the year of institutional adoption,” and Citibank’s strategic shift reflects that sentiment. With traditional custodians like Citi entering a space long dominated by crypto-native firms, the competitive landscape is evolving rapidly.
As post-trade systems evolve and stablecoins gain traction, the divide between traditional finance and crypto is narrowing.
Also read: Maple and AAVE Partner to Bring Institutional Assets On-Chain
