Traditional financial institutions are dropping their long-held skepticism about cryptocurrency, and the pace of change is picking up quickly in 2026. Banks, brokerages, and exchanges are now competing to offer crypto products as demand from retail investors, institutions, and wealthy clients hits a tipping point.
Kraken Sees Tokenized Stocks as Next Big Thing
David Ripley, the co-CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, told Axios that almost every traditional financial services company will eventually offer crypto like Bitcoin and Ethereum to their customers. He called this shift a defining trend of 2026. The change is part of a larger collision of mega-trends that are reshaping financial markets. Stablecoins, tokenization, AI, and extended-hours trading are all converging to create a financial system that is more digital, more global, and operates around the clock.
Ripley pointed to the rise of stablecoins, which are blockchain-based versions of traditional assets, as a key step that has prepared investors for what comes next: tokenized public equities. He said the next big area for tokenized assets will be public equities. Kraken recently announced plans to offer tokenized IPO shares to retail investors, targeting ordinary Americans who Ripley says have been locked out of major wealth-creating companies until late in their growth cycles.
Historic IPO Wave on the Horizon
The IPO market is also preparing for a historic wave. SpaceX is reportedly targeting a Nasdaq debut this week, seeking to raise about $75 billion at a $1.7 trillion valuation. That would make it the largest IPO on record. Nasdaq CFO Sarah Youngwood said the U.S. market has the depth to handle a pipeline of trillion-dollar offerings from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic without requiring structural changes. At the same time, Nasdaq is pushing into extended-hours trading, aligning itself with crypto markets that never close.
Institutions Are Buying the Bitcoin Dip
These developments come as Bitcoin is fighting to stay near $60,000, a 50% decline from its all-time high. But that drop hasn’t scared off major institutional investors. According to John D’Agostino, head of institutional strategy at Coinbase, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and other large investors are actively buying the dip. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, increased its exposure to BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF for a fourth consecutive quarter. Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs collectively still hold roughly $100 billion in assets despite the market downturn.
D’Agostino attributed the selloff to a mix of macroeconomic uncertainty, elevated interest rates, regulatory delays, geopolitical tensions, and concerns sparked by Strategy’s sale of 32 Bitcoin. Even so, he said institutions remain confident in Bitcoin’s long-term value. That view was reinforced when Strategy later bought 1,550 Bitcoin for $101 million. The overall sentiment among large players appears to be one of steady accumulation, not panic.
