TheCorporateCounsel.net

Earlier this month, State Street announced the results of its 2026 Digital Assets Study, which surveyed 300 institutional investors between July 20 and August 19 to understand institutional adoption, investment priorities and operational readiness for digital assets. It found that “institutional investors are becoming increasingly confident in the long-term future of digital assets.” Here are some stats and quotes from the summary that stood out to me:

– 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.

– 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.

– 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%).

– Nearly one in five respondents believe a fully on-chain market structure will never replace today’s hybrid model of traditional and digital infrastructure.

– Meredith Ervine