15 firms on BeInCrypto 2026 digital asset adoption long list

BeInCrypto’s Institutional 100 has named 15 firms to its 2026 long list for the Leader in Digital Asset Adoption category. The list covers activity between April 2025 and March 2026 and will be narrowed to a shortlist in May 2026, with the winner announced at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris on June 2–3, 2026.

The category sits in Pillar 3: Adoption & Use Cases and tracks product launches, capital deployment, institutional infrastructure and market signals across tokenization, custody, deposit tokens, stablecoins and tokenized funds. Evaluators applied Track B methodology, weighting quantitative metrics at 30%, Expert Council scoring at 50% and disclosed company data at 20%. Data sources cited include SEC 13F filings, OCC approvals, MiCA-CASP authorizations, regulator disclosures, audited reports, company releases and private-market databases.

The long list includes traditional banks and large asset managers. JPMorgan Chase is listed for its JPMD USD deposit token, which went live on Base, and for its status as an OCC-regulated national bank. BlackRock appears for expanding institutional access to Bitcoin and Ether through products such as IBIT and ETHB, and for launching the tokenized money market fund BUIDL. Goldman Sachs is included for its GS DAP distributed ledger platform running on Canton and for launching a tokenized money market fund with BNY Mellon. BNY Mellon is cited for providing live custody for Bitcoin and Ether and serving as co-custodian for Morgan Stanley.

Full-service investment firms are represented. Fidelity Investments advanced its Fidelity Digital Assets services and secured a national trust bank charter in December 2025, with plans that include stablecoin and staking services. Morgan Stanley is noted for MSBT trading on NYSE Arca and filings related to a digital trust charter, along with activity connected to Franklin Crypto and transactions involving BENJI. Franklin Templeton is included for tokenized funds such as FOBXX and for launching Franklin Crypto via a 250 Digital transaction. Citi is listed for its Citi Token Services platform and live tokenized deposit services in major markets.

International and regional banks are on the list as well. Standard Chartered is cited for custody services in Luxembourg and Hong Kong and work toward a Hong Kong stablecoin license. HSBC is noted for participation in the UK DIGIT pilot using its Orion issuance platform and progress on a stablecoin issuer license with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. DBS is included for scaling the DBS Digital Exchange, obtaining Recognised Market Operator status from MAS and adding crypto options and ETF-linked notes. Société Générale and its SG-FORGE unit are listed for issuing MiCA-compliant EUR and USD stablecoins and for a pilot of tokenized bond settlement with SWIFT.

Crypto-native and hybrid platforms appear for institutional activity rather than trading focus. KuCoin advanced after receiving MiCAR-CASP authorization in the EU and integrating institutional custody services. MEXC is listed for tokenized real-world asset initiatives and a growing number of tokenized stock and commodity pairs. Nomura’s joint work with Laser Digital and custody provider Komainu was noted for multi-jurisdictional regulated custody and filings toward a U.S. OCC charter.

BeInCrypto said the long list was drawn from an initial pool of more than 30 institutions. The listing highlights firms that moved from pilot stages into live product delivery, regulatory filings or broader institutional integrations during the 12-month review period. The Institutional 100 separates adoption-focused activity into Pillar 3, while trading infrastructure and market-making are evaluated under other pillars.