INSTITUTIONAL | The Industry Has Entered a New Phase of Mainstream Adoption, Say Crypto, Fintech Executives at Consensus Miami 2026

Crypto executives and asset managers have said the industry has entered a new phase of mainstream adoption, pointing to rising institutional participation and growing demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as traditional finance firms deepen their exposure to digital assets.

Speaking at the Consensus 2026 conference in Miami, executives from major crypto and fintech firms said the sector was increasingly being viewed as core financial infrastructure rather than a speculative niche, according to panel discussions.

Executives from firms including Binance, Circle and Revolut said crypto adoption was accelerating across payments, remittances and capital markets, helped by clearer regulation and increasing institutional demand.

“We were in the Prohibition era,” said Rachel Conlan, Chief Marketing Officer at Binance.

“Now we are in the infrastructure phase . . . and on route to becoming the fabric of everyday society.”

Mazen Eljundi, Global Business Head of Investments at Revolut, a fintech in over 40 countries and with over 75 million customers, said:

“[Crypto has moved from speculation toward] real-life utility and scaling . . . Crypto is about banking without borders.”

Speaking on stablecoins being embedded in payments, Tim Queenan, the Senior Vice President of Marketing at Circle, the leading regulated stablecoin issuer, said:

“The infrastructure should be boring. What you build on top of it is what’s interesting.”

Industry leaders also pointed to the rapid expansion of crypto ETFs as evidence that Wall Street and traditional asset managers are becoming more comfortable with digital assets. Speakers at Consensus said institutional inflows into Bitcoin and broader crypto ETF products were helping standardize access to the sector globally while lowering barriers for

• pension funds,
• wealth managers, and
• retail investors.

The comments come as major financial institutions continue to roll out crypto-related investment products following the success of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in early 2026.

Morgan Stanley made a strong entrance into the spot Bitcoin ETF market as its newly launched Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) debuted on NYSE Arca with $34 million in first-day trading volume, placing it among the top 1% of ETF launches.

Market participants at the conference said the growing integration between crypto-native firms and traditional finance could push digital assets further into mainstream portfolios over the next few years.

Stay tuned to BitKE for deeper insights into global crypto developments.

Join our WhatsApp channel here.

Follow us on X for the latest posts and updates

Join and interact with our Telegram community

_________________________________________