How Traditional Institutions Can Lead the Next Phase of Blockchain Finance Exploring the strategic steps traditional institutions can take to shape the future of blockchain finance.
By Marcos Viriato Edited by Chelsea Brown
Key Takeaways
- Follow institutional signals — where institutions invest capital and build infrastructure offers the clearest signal of what will scale, gain regulatory support and integrate globally.
- Invest in banked infrastructure — pay attention to the system that moves, settles and accounts for tokens securely and compliantly.
- Align early with regulators and partners. This helps institutions move faster and face fewer roadblocks.
- Educate and align with internal teams. Success hinges on how well your teams understand your blockchain initiative.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
An unprecedented shift is reshaping the foundations of global finance. Cryptocurrencies are gaining greater acceptance in Washington, with President Donald Trump establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and signing the GENIUS Act. Meanwhile, state treasuries are adding bitcoin to their balance sheets, and public companies are holding a growing portion of their reserve in bitcoin.
Stablecoins, digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, are also entering the mainstream. Companies issuing stablecoins are going public, through IPOs, bringing blockchain technology directly into the regulated financial system. Circle's IPO marked a significant milestone, signaling a growing confidence in regulated digital assets. According to Blockware's Q3 2025 outlook, dozens more public companies are expected to add bitcoin to their balance sheets by year-end, an 18% increase from the prior quarter.
We are seeing a transformation of financial infrastructure, in which traditional finance institutions are beginning to take note: Visa is piloting stablecoin-linked debit cards across Latin America and Africa, while states like Wisconsin are treating Bitcoin like digital gold. Beyond stablecoins and crypto holdings, traditional financial giants are already embracing tokenization. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Citi and others are launching tokenized funds, exploring real-time payments and investing in smart contract infrastructure. Institutions like BlackRock and JPMorgan are already offering tokenized assets and settlement processes on blockchain.
Traditional institutions, with their compliance rigor, global reach and trusted infrastructure, are uniquely positioned to lead this next phase of blockchain finance. Financial leaders must act strategically to help shape the future — or risk playing catch-up.
With that said, here are four steps traditional institutions can take to lead blockchain finance.
Related: Exploring Transformative Potential Of Blockchain In Banking And Financial Services
1. Follow institutional signals
There are now an estimated 135 public companies that hold bitcoin as a reserve asset. Where institutions invest capital and build infrastructure offers the clearest signal of what will scale, gain regulatory support and integrate globally. As digital finance evolves, it's no longer hype but billions in institutional investment driving real-world adoption.
A smart starting point for traditional institutions is to align with players building the underlying rails for blockchain finance. Circle's IPO, for example, signaled strong investor confidence in regulated digital finance. On its first day of trading, Circle's share price surged 168%, closing at $81.69, underscoring a growing appetite for stablecoins and digital dollar infrastructure as legitimate, long-term pillars of the evolving financial system.
2. Invest in banked infrastructure
Rather than focusing just on tokens, pay attention to the system that moves, settles and accounts for them securely and compliantly. This is where you will find long-term value. Examples include Visa building the backend to support stablecoin transactions, Circle's focus on building infrastructure for digital dollars (USDC) and banks using private ledgers to tokenize deposits, modernizing how money moves. The idea is not to replace banks, but rather to create layers of financial infrastructure that can coexist within established systems.
Related: 3 Interesting Benefits of Blockchain and How It Can Change Finance
3. Align early with regulators and partners — compliance‑first innovation
In blockchain finance, regulatory alignment is a strategic advantage. Institutions that bring regulators, legal teams and strategic partners into the process from the beginning will move faster and face fewer roadblocks. The most successful blockchain strategies are built on transparency, auditability and interoperability with the broader financial system.
One example is Brazil's DREX CBDC pilot, where the Central Bank collaborated with major players like Visa, Santander, Microsoft and Chainlink to embed blockchain under regulatory oversight. The partnership ensured clear guidelines for privacy, governance and regulatory compliance. TradFi institutions should take a similar approach: By engaging legal, regulatory and ecosystem stakeholders early, they can accelerate adoption, reduce risks and build trust.
4. Educate and align with internal teams
The success of any blockchain initiative hinges not on technology alone, but on how well it's understood and executed across legal, compliance, IT and product teams. For traditional financial institutions, blockchain introduces new operating models around custody, settlement, reporting and data privacy. Leadership should prioritize internal education, workshops and collaborative planning before launching any blockchain pilot. Education is one of the biggest drivers of adaptation in the crypto space. Whether it is investors or firms, digital asset education is essential to help the industry grow.
Related: How Blockchain Will Transform Traditional Finance As We Know It
Traditional institutions looking to integrate blockchain must treat it as a foundation layer of future finance. The most successful adopters will be those who invest in infrastructure, regulatory alignment and internal education early on. Blockchain infrastructure is already unlocking faster, cheaper payments, real-time financial operations and new ways to engage with customers, partners and global markets. Institutions that act now will help define the operational, regulatory and technical standards that shape how blockchain is integrated into modern finance.
Greater regulatory clarity, along with industry collaboration and partnership, will be key to scaling digital assets within traditional finance. When regulators, traditional financial institutions and fintech innovators work together, they can build the future of finance and money.
