Ripple President: Half of Fortune 500 to Adopt Crypto in 2026

Stablecoins, tokenized assets, and custody are set to replace pilot programs as crypto moves into core operations.

Ripple President Monica Long has said that about half of Fortune 500 companies will adopt formal crypto or digital asset treasury strategies in 2026, pointing to stablecoins, tokenized assets, and custody as main areas of use.

She framed crypto less as a trading product and more as financial infrastructure that large firms are beginning to treat as part of routine operations.

Institutional Crypto Shifting From Pilots to Production

Long shared her outlook in a series of posts on X published on January 20, alongside a longer essay on Ripple’s website released the same day.

She argued that banks and corporates are moving past limited trials and into production use, especially for stablecoins used in settlement, on-chain assets, and custody services. According to her, stablecoins are becoming embedded in payment flows as firms look for faster settlement and better liquidity management.

Long cited growing involvement from payment firms such as Visa and Stripe, which have integrated stablecoins into parts of their systems. She also pointed to U.S. regulatory changes, including the passage of the GENIUS Act, as a factor that has given institutions clearer rules around dollar-backed crypto assets. Ripple’s own push into this area includes Ripple USD and its conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a national trust bank.

On corporate balance sheets, the Ripple executive said crypto exposure is broadening beyond Bitcoin holdings. She expects companies to hold stablecoins, tokenized treasuries, and other on-chain instruments as part of their structured treasury strategies.

A 2025 Coinbase survey found that 60% of Fortune 500 firms were already working on blockchain initiatives, while more than 200 public companies held BTC at the end of last year.

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ETFs, Custody, and Consolidation to Shape the Next Phase

Long’s comments have landed at a time when institutional access to crypto is widening through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). For example, Ethereum and Solana ETFs registered record trading volumes in early January 2026, showing sustained activity rather than brief spikes.

Meanwhile, asset managers are also expanding product lines, with Bitwise filing for 11 single-asset altcoin ETFs on December 31, 2025, covering DeFi tokens, layer-1 networks, and AI-linked projects. These products match up with Long’s view that while ETFs are a small slice of the broader market, they act as a gateway for institutions that need familiar structures.

She also linked adoption to changes in custody. Crypto mergers and acquisitions reached $8.6 billion in 2025, with custody services drawing increased attention as banks face pressure to spread risk across multiple providers.

Long expects more than half of the world’s top 50 banks to formalize new custody relationships in 2026. She also said blockchain systems will increasingly work alongside automation tools, allowing treasuries and asset managers to manage liquidity and collateral on a continuous basis.

While these forecasts remain projections, they reflect a growing consensus among large crypto firms and investors that institutional use is now shaping how the sector develops.