Crypto’s TradFi Moment: Institutions Are In, but on Their Terms
Institutional capital is entering crypto, but traditional finance players are building infrastructure and demanding compliance on their own terms.Summary
The Consensus Hong Kong 2026 conference highlighted a central tension: massive institutional capital is interested in crypto, but its entry is conditional on traditional finance (TradFi) standards. BlackRock framed the potential inflow as $2 trillion based on a 1% allocation of Asian household wealth. Asia is actively building the necessary on-ramps, with SGX Group seeing rapid adoption of crypto perpetual futures dominated by Asian hours, while Japanese banks develop regulated stablecoin rails. However, institutional adoption faces significant hurdles, including a fundamental trust gap with crypto-native firms, as highlighted by Zodia Custody. Furthermore, institutions require familiar reporting formats, audit trails, and robust security/custody solutions before deploying capital. Regulation remains the key variable, with the US Clarity Act progressing slowly due to political complications, whereas Asian jurisdictions like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan are establishing usable frameworks faster. Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng noted that while retail demand is muted, institutional deployment remains strong but cautious, favoring market-neutral strategies. Ultimately, industry leaders concluded that blockchain's endgame is finance, focusing on tokenizing assets and building 'internet capital markets,' even if the plumbing is being laid before the massive capital influx arrives.
(Source：BeInCrypto)