How Institutions Are Entering Crypto

What you'll learn

• From Skepticism to Standard Allocation
• Who the Institutional Players Actually Are
• Corporate Treasuries: The Strategy Playbook
• Custody: The Foundation Everything Sits On
• How Advisors Allocate Today
• What Institutional Adoption Means for You
• Keeping Perspective
• For Deeper Reading

Key terms

Institutional investor

An organization that invests large sums on behalf of clients or members, such as banks, hedge funds, pension funds, sovereigns, and insurance companies.

Qualified custodian

A regulated entity (typically a bank, trust company, or broker-dealer) authorized under SEC rules to hold client assets, including digital assets, on behalf of registered investment advisors.

Assets under management (AUM)

The total market value of investments that an institution manages on behalf of its clients.

Assets under custody (AUC)

The total value of assets held in safekeeping by a custodian, distinct from AUM in that the custodian does not exercise investment discretion.

Treasury reserve asset

An asset held by a corporation as part of its cash reserves, chosen for its ability to preserve or grow value over time.

Probability of default (PD)

A statistical estimate of the likelihood that a counterparty will fail to meet its obligations within a given time horizon, used to compare custodian risk.

OCC charter

A national bank charter issued by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, granting federal banking authority. Anchorage (2021) and BitGo (2025) hold OCC charters.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

A U.S. federal holding of Bitcoin established by Executive Order on March 6, 2025, capitalized with approximately 200,000 BTC obtained through criminal and civil forfeiture, with policy that the government does not sell.

Kinexys

JPMorgan's blockchain and tokenization platform, renamed from Onyx in November 2024 at the Singapore Fintech Festival under Umar Farooq. Settles over $1.5T cumulative notional and $2B+ daily.