Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets Accelerates as Trust and Regulation Emerge as Critical Dependencies

Settlement of tokenized assets was the leading digital cash use case, identified by 64% of survey respondents.

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• State Street research finds institutions increasingly prioritize regulatory clarity, cybersecurity and digital cash infrastructure as adoption scales.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) today released findings from its 2026 Digital Assets Study¹, showing that institutional investors are becoming increasingly confident in the long-term future of digital assets while placing greater emphasis on trust, cybersecurity, regulation and market infrastructure as adoption grows.

The global study of 300 asset managers, asset owners and wealth managers found that 51% expect digital assets to become mainstream within five years, if they have not already, up from 42% in 2025 and 11% in 2024. Just 3% believe digital assets will never become mainstream.

Operational readiness is also rising. More than one-third (35%) of respondents already manage or distribute digital assets, while another 28% have the provider relationships and infrastructure in place to do so if client demand arises.

The research suggests that institutional priorities are evolving alongside adoption. Experience operating within an appropriate regulatory framework was identified as the most important characteristic of a digital asset service provider, cited by 69% of respondents. Cybersecurity ranked second at 54%, followed by financial strength at 47%.

“Five years ago, most institutions were trying to decide whether digital assets mattered,” said Angus Fletcher, head of Digital Asset Solutions at State Street. “Today the conversation is much more practical. Investors are spending less time debating the technology and more time focused on infrastructure, operations, regulation and risk. That tells us the market is maturing.”

Respondents expect digital assets to have the greatest material impact on custody (66%), payments (54%) and fund issuance (51%). Fund issuance and tokenization emerged as the leading strategic priority, cited by 52% of respondents.

Cost reduction and efficiency were identified as the largest expected benefit of digital assets by 53% of respondents. Faster settlement was the most frequently cited advantage (67%), followed by new client acquisition (58%) and increased liquidity (53%).

Digital cash emerged as one of the study’s most significant themes. Almost half of respondents (45%) described digital cash as very important to their digital asset strategy. Settlement of tokenized assets was identified as the leading use case (64%), while bank-issued US dollar stablecoins (49%) and tokenized deposits (48%) were the identified as the preferred forms of digital cash.

“People often focus on tokenized securities, but settlement still requires a trusted form of money,” Donna Milrod, chief product officer at State Street, added. “That is why digital cash has moved much closer to the center of institutional strategy. The investors we surveyed increasingly see digital assets and digital cash developing together because one depends on the other.”

Other key findings include:

• Digital asset allocations continue to rise: Average digital asset allocations currently stand at approximately 11% and are expected to rise to 17% over the next three years, compared with 7% rising to 16% in the 2025 study.
• Institutions drive future distribution growth: Approximately 82% of asset managers plan to distribute digital assets to institutional investors.
• Artificial intelligence is a critical enabler: 57% described artificial intelligence as critical or very important to their digital asset operations, including applications in smart contracts, cybersecurity and data management.
• Tokenization funds lead product development: ETFs and traditional long-only funds emerged as the preferred vehicles for digital asset distribution, with 84% planning tokenized versions of existing products.
• Hybrid market models are here to stay: Nearly one in five respondents believe a fully on-chain market structure will never replace today’s hybrid model of traditional and digital infrastructure.
• Digital cash adoption remains early: While only 24% are already using or prepared to use digital cash today, 46% expect to be able to do so within the next 12 months.

The findings align with State Street's strategy of helping clients navigate the continued adoption of digital assets, with a focus on areas such as tokenization, digital cash and the infrastructure needed to support their growth. The full 2026 Digital Assets Study is available here.

¹ The State Street 2026 Digital Assets Study surveyed 300 senior executives from asset managers, asset owners and wealth managers across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America between July 20, 2026 and August 19, 2026 to examine institutional adoption, investment priorities and operational readiness for digital assets.

About State Street Corporation

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $57.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $6.3 trillion* in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, State Street operates globally in more than 100 geographic markets and employs approximately 51,000 worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's website at www.statestreet.com.

*Assets under management as of June 30, 2026 includes approximately $157 billion of assets with respect to SPDR® products for which State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing agent. SSGA FD and State Street Investment Management are affiliated.

© 2026 State Street Corporation

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Media Contacts:

Kate Cheung (APAC)
kate.cheung@StateStreet.com

Lauren Fraser (EMEA)
LFraser1@statestreet.com

Brendan Paul (North America)
Bpaul2@statestreet.com

Source: State Street Corporation