In recent years, a silent revolution has quietly emerged in the global financial landscape. Traditional financial institutions, once maintaining a distance from cryptocurrencies, are now actively entering the market at a visible speed, expanding their scope from ETF products to asset tokenization, crypto custody, and cross-border settlement. Why are traditional financial institutions fully embracing the crypto world at this moment? Behind this lies not just a market trend, but an inevitable evolution of capital, technology, and future landscape.
1.
Capital Seeking New Growth Momentum
Regardless of how financial markets evolve, the nature of capital seeking profit has never changed. Although the cryptocurrency market is volatile, it harbors growth potential that traditional assets cannot match. Bitcoin's market value once exceeded $3 trillion in 2021, and even after correction, it remained stable between $2-3 trillion in early 2025, demonstrating remarkable capital attraction.
More importantly, the asset allocation concept of younger generations has fundamentally changed. For Millennials and Gen Z, crypto assets are no longer "alternative investments" but a regular asset class alongside stocks and real estate. This means that in the largest global wealth transfer wave over the next few decades, cryptocurrencies will play an unavoidable role. For traditional finance to capture this emerging capital flow, actively entering the market is the only option.
2.
Comprehensive Customer Demand Penetration
In the past, only a few high-risk-preference investors focused on Bitcoin, but the situation has changed dramatically. More and more institutions, from high-net-worth individuals and retirement funds to family offices and even large sovereign wealth funds, are demanding financial service providers offer crypto asset allocation options.
For example, Fidelity launched the Fidelity Crypto platform in 2024, allowing users to directly hold Bitcoin and Ethereum; BlackRock introduced the iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF, becoming one of the market's most capital-attracting crypto products. If traditional financial institutions cannot provide related services, funds will flow to crypto-native enterprises like Coinbase and Kraken. Therefore, to retain funds and customers, traditional finance must proactively develop crypto asset products.
3.
Regulatory Environment Becoming Mature
Lack of clear regulation was once the primary reason traditional finance avoided the crypto market, but this barrier is rapidly disappearing. The US SEC approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, Hong Kong introduced the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) system, and the EU passed the MiCA law, with major global economies establishing clear rules for crypto assets.
Legalization brings not just compliance guarantees but significantly reduces financial, legal, and brand risks. In this environment, from investment banks to asset management companies and global custodian banks, all are incorporating crypto assets into their business portfolios. Traditional finance no longer needs to "walk a tightrope" but can confidently participate in the market within a compliant framework, which has significantly accelerated their strategic positioning.
4.
Technology Driving Financial Infrastructure Innovation
The rapid development of blockchain technology provides traditional finance with unprecedented innovation opportunities. On-chain asset management brings higher transparency, faster settlement speeds, and lower operational costs, fundamentally changing asset management and trading models.
Especially with the rise of Real World Asset (RWA) Tokenization, traditional assets like government bonds, real estate, and private equity can now circulate and trade in token form on the blockchain. Boston Consulting estimates that by 2030, the global tokenized asset market value will exceed $16 trillion. This technological revolution allows traditional financial practitioners to see the new shape of future capital markets, making accelerated technological positioning inevitable.
5.
Maintaining Competitiveness and Market Position
With the rise of fintech companies and crypto-native enterprises, traditional finance is facing unprecedented competitive pressure. From Coinbase to Binance, and tech giants like PayPal and Apple entering the digital asset domain, the boundaries of financial services are being redefined.
If traditional finance continues to wait and see, it will not only lose new-generation customers but may also be marginalized in future financial ecosystems. Actively positioning in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is not just about seeking new revenues, but a necessary strategy to maintain market position, survival, and competitiveness.
Summary
Traditional finance's positioning in cryptocurrencies is a strategic adjustment combining capital trends, customer needs, regulatory changes, technological innovation, and survival pressure. This is not just following a trend, but a profound understanding and forward-looking layout of the future financial landscape. The future financial world will no longer have clear on-chain and off-chain boundaries, but a newly merged financial system.
And now is the critical moment for traditional financial institutions to determine their future roles.
〈Why Are Traditional Financial Institutions Accelerating Crypto Positioning? Five Key Driving Forces Fully Analyzed (2025 Latest Trend)〉 This article was first published on 《NONE LAND Wave Chain》.
