The rapid rise of stablecoins and asset tokenization is fundamentally changing how value moves through the global financial system. If you’re watching major institutions integrate these technologies into their core operations, you’re witnessing a transformation that extends far beyond cryptocurrency trading.
In BPM’s recent webinar, “Blockchain & Digital Asset Trends for 2026: Navigating Industry Change,” industry practitioners including Max Tavern, director with Autonomous; Michelle Choy, tax director at BPM; Sarah Wheeler, director at Marfire; and Javier Salinas, who leads BPM’s digital asset and blockchain tax practice, explored how stablecoins are achieving mainstream adoption while tokenization opens new opportunities across asset classes.
Stablecoins Capture Growing Market Share
The numbers demonstrate remarkable growth. Stablecoins now account for 10-11% of the crypto market, up from just 6% a year ago, according to Tavern, which provides operational support to web3 projects and traditional fund vehicles pursuing digital assets growth.
“If we look back one year, it was 6% last year,” Tavern said. “You don’t have to go back far enough to see where it was sub 1%.”
USDT and USDC together command approximately $255 billion in market cap, with 84% of institutions now using or exploring stablecoin applications, said Choy, who supports clients in the blockchain and digital assets ecosystem.
This growth represents institutional confidence in stablecoin infrastructure that has matured significantly over the past five years.
Trust Building Through Market Testing
The stablecoin ecosystem has weathered significant tests. The Terra Luna collapse in 2022 served as a critical turning point, forcing the industry to confront questions about trust and security within stablecoin infrastructure, Tavern said.
Since then, enterprise-scale adoption has accelerated dramatically. Stripe announced their stablecoin program, MoneyGram launched their integration, and major payment networks have moved quickly to embrace the technology.
“We’ve seen Visa partner with these stablecoin infrastructure projects to make sure that they can secure their own network,” Tavern said. “Mastercard’s announced their integrations with Circle, with Paxos, with plenty of other vendors.”
Institutions Leverage Rather Than Compete
A key shift is how traditional financial institutions are approaching stablecoins. Rather than building competing systems from scratch, they’re integrating established infrastructure.
“I think institutions are becoming smarter where they realize they don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Choy said. “They’re going to leverage a plug-and-play enterprise solution that’s already been out there, set by Tether and USDC to help improve their current operating systems.”
This collaborative approach extends across the financial ecosystem. The narrative is no longer David versus Goliath, with small fintech crypto companies battling big federal governments and reserves, Choy said. Instead, larger institutions are offering support and partnership to help the ecosystem grow.
The Federal Reserve itself examined this shift in a December note on banks in the age of stablecoins. The analysis suggested that international demand for dollar-backed stablecoins could actually increase U.S. bank balances, as global stablecoin infrastructure requires collateral held domestically.
“If the international demand for this outweighs the local demand, suddenly you may actually see balances increase based on the actual use of stable coins internationally,” Tavern said.
Tokenization Extends Beyond Payments
While stablecoins have captured attention, tokenization opportunities extend across asset classes. “There’s definitely a whole lot more around tokenization which will touch in the DeFi world,” Choy said. “The opportunities could lead to the digitization of real-world assets, including real estate property, like precious metals or other commodities. So it’s not pegged to currency.”
The New York Stock Exchange’s announcement of a 24/7 trading venue, backed by BNY and Citi, exemplifies how institutional markets are embracing tokenization for round-the-clock asset accessibility.
Institutional markets are recognizing blockchain as a novel technology that allows access to assets in ways that weren’t possible before, Tavern said.
The projected growth range for tokenized assets, from $2 trillion to as high as $30 trillion by 2030, reflects the wide range of applications still being developed.
“It’s such a massive range because the opportunity for assets to be tokenized in a way that we haven’t really considered yet,” Tavern said. “The technology and the infrastructure that’s been built over the past 10 years and the actual growth that we see every cycle has continued to compound.”
Wheeler emphasized the importance of this development. “The application and the potential for real-world assets in this is where we’re going to be in 2026,” Wheeler said. “We’re going to see so much innovation in that space.”
Critical Infrastructure Considerations
This growth creates significant operational requirements. Organizations face complex accounting and reporting issues, custody and transaction monitoring challenges, and tax classification and compliance requirements, Salinas said.
Organizations need partners who understand both the technology and regulatory implications. The infrastructure must scale with institutional expectations, driving increased demand for specialized services in accounting, tax, audit, and operational support.
Position Your Organization for the Tokenization Wave
The convergence of stablecoins and tokenization presents both opportunities and operational complexities. At BPM, our blockchain and digital assets team helps organizations navigate structuring, tax, accounting, audit, and operational readiness with practical guidance tailored to your industry and risk profile. Contact BPM to discuss how we can support your blockchain and digital asset needs.
