Ripple Survey Finds 72% of Finance Leaders See Digital Assets as Essential

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• Ripple’s 2026 Global Digital Asset Survey found that two in three finance leaders believe their institutions must offer digital asset services to remain competitive.
• 74% say stablecoins can boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock working capital currently trapped in slow legacy systems.

A new survey from Ripple has found that banks, asset managers, fintechs and corporates believe digital assets have become the cornerstone for new-age finance. The Ripple Global Digital Asset Survey found that 72% of leaders from these institutions believe they must offer digital asset services to stay competitive.

This rising interest is being shaped by the growing involvement of tier-1 financial institutions, from banks such as JPMorgan Chase and HSBC to asset managers such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton. Progressive regulation, especially in the US since Donald Trump took over, and a steady shift toward easy-to-access fintech services are also shaping interest.

Stablecoins is one of the sectors seeing the most interest, according to Ripple’s survey, which involved 1,000 respondents. Most agreed that stablecoins’ fast settlement can give them an edge over the competition, but what interested 74% of respondents more was stablecoins’ ability to boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock working capital.

Stablecoins are increasingly being offered as payment options for both cross-border and daily transactions. As we reported on Thursday, PayPal recently expanded its PYUSD stablecoin to 70 markets on its mainstream platform, which boasts over 440 million active users.

Ripple noted:

That unanimity makes it clear that finance leaders are thinking about stablecoins as more than just a new way to execute payments. Increasingly, they see them as tools for treasury management — a more conservative arena exploring the undeniable benefits of using blockchain technology to move value.

Ripple Report: Digital Asset Custody is Paramount

While interest from banks and large asset managers in digital assets is growing rapidly, fintechs still lead in adoption. Ripple found that most fintechs plan to use stablecoins in treasury offerings or offer digital asset wallets to consumers within the next two years.

31% of fintechs use stablecoins to collect payments for their customers, while one in three takes payments directly in stablecoins. Nearly half of the surveyed fintechs are exploring building their own digital asset solutions, compared with only 14% of corporates.

Tokenization is yet another field that is recording rising interest from financial firms. Many of the surveyed leaders say they are evaluating tokenization partners, with 89% saying digital asset custody is a top priority.

Ripple has emerged as an important player in digital asset custody, with Ripple Custody recently striking multiple deals with financial institutions in Brazil and other Latin American countries, as CNF reported. Ripple Custody is the company’s institutional custody platform, built through its $250 million acquisition of Metaco in 2023.

When selecting infrastructure providers, the survey found that about half of fintechs and banks prefer those with one-stop-shop solutions. Among corporates, this preference shoots up to 71%. Managing multiple vendors introduces complexity, risks and costs that these companies would rather avoid. Security is also paramount, with 97% of respondents saying they look for certifications such as ISO and SOC II before selecting a partner.