From Wall Street to web3: 2026 is crypto’s integration year, Silicon Valley Bank says

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) forecasts that 2026 will be the year of crypto integration, moving from expectations to production as regulatory clarity improves and institutional engagement accelerates. The focus is shifting to infrastructure across payments, custody, and capital markets, driven by converging forces like institutional capital, stablecoins, tokenization, and AI.

SVB notes that venture funding concentrated into stronger teams, and corporate balance sheets are increasingly holding Bitcoin. Traditional banks are deepening their involvement, leading to expected record M&A activity as firms acquire digital asset capabilities rather than building them. Stablecoins are evolving into digital cash, supported by new U.S. federal standards expected to be aligned with in 2026.

Furthermore, real-world asset tokenization is scaling, and there is a significant convergence with AI, with many crypto startups also building AI products. Ultimately, SVB argues that cryptocurrency will be treated as infrastructure, underpinning core financial operations, even if consumer-facing apps do not explicitly brand themselves as crypto.

(Source：CoinDesk)