Ripple President Monica Long sees 2026 as the crypto year of institutions
- Ripple President Monica Long sees 2026 as the year of institutions: stablecoins will become standard, Fortune 500 companies will professionalize their blockchain strategies, and on-chain capital markets will gain systemic importance for the first time.
- Long argues that the “production era” of blockchains will begin in 2026: banks, payment service providers and corporations will move from pilot projects to full operation – a structural change that was already evident in 2025.
In recent years, the crypto industry and legislation have laid the technical and legal foundations on which a phase of accelerated institutional adoption is now following. 2026 will be the first year in which tokenized assets, digital custody and AI automation are no longer promises of the future, but operational reality in the global financial system.
Ripple President Monica Long is confident that most banks, companies and financial service providers have completed their pilot phase and Digital-Assets integrate into their core processes on a large scale for the first time.
Stablecoins are becoming part of the financial infrastructure
Stablecoins are evolving from an alternative payment channel to a primary channel. With the passage of the GENIUS Act in the USA, the age of the digital dollar officially begins.
Regulated stablecoins like Ripple’s RLUSD set new standards for programmable, anytime payments. Institutions are increasingly using these instruments to mobilize collateral, which should lead to 24/7 liquidity by 2027.
The B2B sector is proving to be the strongest growth engine: the annual transfer volume of institutional stablecoin payments has increased from less than $100 million to $76 billion within a year.
At the same time, companies worldwide are sitting on hundreds of billions in tied up working capital that could be harnessed through real-time settlement and programmable liquidity.
Digital assets are becoming standard on balance sheets
Cryptocurrencies have evolved from speculative assets to an operational layer of modern financial markets. By the end of 2026, companies worldwide will hold over $1 trillion in digital assets, and approximately half of the Fortune 500 companies will have implemented formalized digital asset strategies.
Tokenized assets, digital treasury structures, on-chain T-bills and programmable financial instruments are becoming an integral part of institutional portfolios. At the same time, the ETF market is opening up new inflows.
Over 40 new crypto ETFs were launched in 2025, but only account for a fraction of the US ETF market – a clear signal of further growth potential. The capital markets themselves are also changing.
In 2026, collateral mobility will become a key use case as clearinghouses and custodians use tokenization to modernize settlement processes.
Automatic AI procedures shape the next phase
Digital asset custody is becoming the strategic core of the industry. In 2025, M&A activity in the crypto sector reached a volume of $8.6 billion, driven by banks, fintechs and institutional service providers.
Custody is increasingly becoming a commodity, forcing providers to vertically integrate or form strategic partnerships. At the same time, regulators are demanding multi-custody models, which is why more than half of the world’s largest banks are expected to establish new custody relationships in 2026.
At the same time, the operational merger of blockchain and AI begins. Stablecoins and smart contracts automate treasury processes such as liquidity management, margin calls and return optimization in real time.
Asset managers combine AI models with onchain infrastructures to dynamically manage exposures and take full advantage of the 24/7 nature of digital markets. Zero-knowledge technologies enable data protection-compliant risk assessments and create the basis for broader use of digital assets in regulated markets.
2026 will be the end of shitcoins
2026 will be the year in which crypto assets shed their experimental nature. Rather, they will begin to become the fundamental infrastructure of the global financial system.
Stablecoins drive settlement, tokenized assets will move onto balance sheets, custody creates trust, and AI-supported automation takes process efficiency to a new level.
It is the institutions that will actively shape this development – and they will do so permanently.
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