TradFi Embraces Crypto as Big Banks Open Access

Bitwise and Sygnum see a structural shift: banks and asset managers are increasingly opening the door to digital assets through custody, trading, and stablecoin services.

Key Takeaways

• Two financial institutions, each with more than $1 trillion in assets, approved crypto products this summer.
• Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley sees that as a structural shift: big banks are giving clients more and more access to crypto.
• Banks are moving from opponents to providers of custody, tokenization, and regulated trading around digital assets.

Two financial institutions that each manage more than $1 trillion (€0.9 trillion) in assets approved crypto products this summer. According to Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, that shows major players want to give their clients more access to crypto even in a bear market.

Horsley told CoinDesk that the industry has clearly turned a corner. Where crypto used to be framed as a counter-movement against banks, major financial institutions are now shifting toward distribution, custody, and other services around digital assets.

Banks Choose Crypto

Horsley summed up that shift by saying that everyone “put on the crypto shirt” this year. Bitwise did not name the two institutions and also would not say which products were approved or when clients can start using them.

According to Horsley, institutions of this size would not have opened up extra access so quickly during the 2022 downturn. That makes the recent approvals especially notable to him because they are happening in a weak market.

From Resistance to Infrastructure

Sygnum CIO Fabian Dori sees the same shift. He said banks have changed from opponents into parties that now help build, enable, or distribute digital assets through custody, tokenization, and regulated trading. Dori called that development structural, not cyclical, and linked it to client demand and clearer rules.

That move fits into a broader trend. In March 2025, the U.S. regulator OCC issued an interpretive letter saying banks under supervision could carry out certain crypto activities, such as custody, without prior approval. Later in 2025, Citibank worked with Coinbase on stablecoin payments for institutional clients, another sign that traditional and digital finance are moving closer together.

What This Means for Crypto

For European crypto followers, the main takeaway is that the institutional barrier is getting lower. If big banks and asset managers offer crypto through existing channels, that could make the market more accessible for clients who prefer to stay within regulated infrastructure. At the same time, according to Dori, crypto still depends on market prices and narratives; more institutional infrastructure does not automatically change that character.

The list of early movers also shows how fast the market has shifted. Swissquote, DBS, BBVA, BNY Mellon, Nubank, LGT, St.Galler Kantonalbank, Santander, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Standard Chartered, Charles Schwab, SoFi, and Morgan Stanley have already taken steps toward crypto services in recent years, from trading to custody.