Why 2026 Denotes a Structural Shift for Asset Managers
The conversation around digital assets in wealth and asset management has fundamentally changed. In 2025, the industry experienced a major shift with:
- Greater regulatory clarity,
- Expanded institutional access, and
- Crypto’s firm move into regulated investment vehicles.
However, the most significant shift is operational. Asset managers now focus on integrating digital assets into existing fiduciary, trading, and governance models without increasing operational, regulatory, or counterparty risk. Crypto is no longer a product decision. By 2026, digital assets represent an infrastructure decision for asset and wealth managers.
From Market Access to Operating Fit
As client expectations rise, competitive pressure increases. Surveys show that demand for digital asset exposure spans all age groups, account sizes, and wealth segments. Crypto fluency is now a baseline expectation for modern advisory relationships, not a differentiator.
Asset managers risk losing visibility into client portfolios as allocations move to external platforms, exchanges, or unmanaged accounts. At the same time, firms are becoming more selective in how they implement crypto.
Retail-origin platforms and point solutions often force asset managers to integrate digital assets into existing workflows, leading to fragmented reporting, inconsistent governance, and unscalable execution models. Asset managers are now prioritizing infrastructure that meets professional standards for execution quality, reporting, security, and portfolio integration.
Crypto Is No Longer Cyclical, It’s Structural
For years, crypto markets were seen as cyclical, driven by retail sentiment and speculation. This view is outdated. Today, sustained structural demand is anchored in regulated access, institutional capital, and long-term allocation strategies.
The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs represented a clear inflection point. In their first year, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs accumulated over $100 billion in assets, making them among the fastest-growing ETF categories. These flows are driven by model portfolios, retirement accounts, and institutions with defined mandates, rather than short-term trading.
Institutional intent reinforces this shift. Surveys by EY and PwC show that over 75 percent of institutional investors plan to increase digital asset exposure, citing diversification and long-term positioning rather than short-term returns.
For asset managers, this denotes a transition: crypto is no longer simply an asset class to observe. It is infrastructure that must be governed, integrated, and operated with rigor.
From Sidecar Allocation to Portfolio Building Block
As digital assets mature, their role within managed portfolios is evolving.
Across the industry, asset managers are making small, intentional allocations—often one to five percent—within long-term asset allocation models. These allocations are not standalone; they are intended to function like any other portfolio component.
Clients do not want fragmented experiences or separate applications. They expect digital assets to be managed with the same discipline as equities and fixed income, including consistent reporting, clear tax treatment, and fiduciary oversight.
Integrating crypto into existing portfolio workflows strengthens continuity and trust. Isolating it in separate systems makes it appear experimental.
Considered integration helps asset managers retain and acquire clients, while also raising expectations for execution quality, liquidity access, and tax-aware rebalancing.
Stablecoins as Institutional Plumbing
Stablecoins are often mistaken for an investment category, but they serve as settlement infrastructure.
As digital finance matures, stablecoins are increasingly seen as modern financial infrastructure, permitting continuous, near-instant settlement across borders and systems.
Corporations are using stablecoins to improve working capital efficiency and reduce settlement friction. For wealth and asset management platforms, this means clients increasingly expect money movement that corresponds to modern digital experiences.
The challenge is not selecting a token, but combining digital cash into unified, compliant workflows alongside traditional settlement systems.
Beyond the ETF Wrapper
ETFs addressed the access challenge but were never intended as the final solution.
As institutional engagement grows, asset managers seek greater programmability, operational control, and direct participation than ETF wrappers offer.
Tokenized treasuries and money market funds demonstrate this transition. Firms like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton use blockchain infrastructure to modernize settlement, administration, and ownership while continuing governance standards.
On-chain vaults and managed strategies build on this model, emphasizing lifecycle control, transparency, and integration rather than novelty.
For asset managers, this evolution strengthens a central truth: the future of digital assets is operational, not experimental.
Operational Preparedness Is the Differentiator
The primary constraint for asset managers is no longer client demand. It is readiness.
Unified access, institutional-grade reporting, secure custody, and scalable execution are now baseline requirements. Firms that rely on fragmented workflows, interim solutions, or retail-derived platforms risk operational inefficiency as client expectations increase.
Asset managers who adopt integrated infrastructure to support digital assets as part of their core operating model, rather than as an exception, will gain a lasting advantage.
Readiness Is the Path Forward
Preparing for 2026 does not require rebuilding technology stacks. It requires infrastructure that integrates fluently with existing trading, custody, and administrative frameworks.
sFOX Connect was built as institutional crypto infrastructure, unifying execution, liquidity, and qualified custody into a single operating layer for asset managers. By extending existing workflows rather than replacing them, sFOX Connect enables digital assets to function as governed portfolio allocations rather than as separate systems.
Firms best positioned for the next phase of digital financial services will be those investing in infrastructure that scales with fiduciary responsibility, not those focused solely on access.
Learn how sFOX Connect helps asset managers move from readiness to execution.
