Dec 15, 2025 The hyped U.S. digital asset regulatory progress of early 2025 has not lived up to expectations.
Spurred on by the GENIUS and CLARITY acts, traditional finance spent most of the year preparing a wave of blockchain-powered products, yet many of those initiatives are entering 2026 in a holding pattern. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits, digital asset treasuries, and even bitcoin ETF infrastructure have all advanced internally at major banks, but regulatory clarity has not kept pace.
In the United States, the second half of the 118th Congress is approaching with little progress on the comprehensive frameworks banks need. The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, established a path for stablecoin regulation but remains unimplemented until the U.S. Department of the Treasury publishes detailed rules. These rules will define reserve standards, disclosure requirements, limits on affiliate activities, and the boundaries of what can be classified as yield.
At the same time, competing proposals for broader digital asset market regulation remain stuck in committee with no floor vote scheduled. The result is an environment in which it remains unclear whether 2026 will be the year that global financial institutions fully activate their blockchain-based financial services.
Banks, presumably fed up with delays, are no longer waiting for clarity.
In the U.S., Europe, and Asia, institutions, in hopes of ensuring they have significant say in what comes next instead of being ousted as incumbents, are steadily building the infrastructure they believe will define the next generation of global payments and settlement.
Custody Emerges As The Strategic Foundation
Custody is the foundation that supports every institutional crypto development/defense strategy, as self-custody options are the main representation of crypto’s “be your own bank” mantra that threatens the banking system. But currently, banks cannot hold tokenized securities, participate in on-chain liquidity markets, or manage tokenized deposits without secure and regulated custody infrastructure.
Deutsche Bank has spent the past two years constructing its custody foundation. The bank has completed technical integrations and regulatory filings across Europe and Asia and is expected to fully commercialize its digital asset custody service in 2026.
Citi is following a similar line of development, reportedly planning to introduce a cryptocurrency custody service next year. This service is expected to rely on a combination of internally developed technology and long-planned third-party partnerships.
Stablecoins And Tokenized Payments Gain Mainstream Momentum
Stablecoins became one of the most significant topics in banking this year, with institutions diving headfirst into the sector. Citi Institute’s Future of Finance group projects that the stablecoin market could grow to at least 1.6 trillion dollars by 2030 if regulatory support and institutional integration continue.
Recent developments indicate that the momentum is accelerating. In early December, Sony Bank in Japan reportedly began preparing a dollar-pegged stablecoin for launch in 2026. A day later, ten European banks announced the formation of Qivalis , a new company that will issue a euro-backed stablecoin. Participants include BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, ING, Banca Sella, Danske Bank, DekaBank, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank International, SEB, and UniCredit.
Sony Prepares to Launch U.S. Dollar Stablecoin
It’s not every day that one of the world’s most recognizable global brands steps directly into the stablecoin market.
In the United States, a number of major banks are also exploring stablecoin issuance. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup have examined the idea of launching a jointly operated digital dollar.
Other banks are testing adjacent models. U.S. Bank is experimenting with custom stablecoin issuance on the Stellar network and describes this effort as an alternative payment rail. Bank of New York Mellon is studying tokenized deposits as a method for allowing clients to make blockchain-based payments. JPMorgan Chase launched JPMD , a token that represents commercial bank money on-chain and is available exclusively to institutional clients. JPMorgan mints the tokens and transfers them to participating institutions through smart contract transactions on the Base public blockchain.
Lorenzo’s Perspective: Infrastructure Is Converging
The rapid expansion of institutional custody, stablecoin issuance, and tokenization reflects the same forces behind Lorenzo Protocol’s role as a growing on-chain investment bank.21e51a
Finance is moving toward:
On-chain issuance of financial products such as stablecoins, deposit tokens, and structured investment vehicles like tokenized funds.
Off-chain execution that uses regulated intermediaries.
On-chain settlement that provides transparent, composable representations of financial strategies.65d38c
As banks prepare to launch blockchain-enabled financial services, the need for infrastructure that can launch, manage, and scale these products will continue to rise
