This month, Standard Chartered and HSBC completed the first live cross-border transaction using tokenized bank deposits on Swift's blockchain ledger, part of a rollout involving 17 banks across six continents.
The shift comes as Bitcoin trades back above $80,000, reaching a multi-month high of around $81,000 this week as improving sentiment and renewed ETF demand lifted the market, according to The Block.
But banks are moving well beyond buying Bitcoin. They are building the infrastructure to custody, transfer, stake and tokenize digital assets themselves.
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Banks Are Bringing Crypto Infrastructure In-House
Standard Chartered moved to acquire Zodia Custody's regulated custody business in May, bringing a company it originally helped create closer to its core banking operations.
Citi is following a similar path. On August 18, the bank unveiled Custody+ and said it expects to launch digital asset custody later this year, starting with Bitcoin. More than 80% of Citi's asset-servicing event volume is already processed in real time.
BNY, which oversees $62.6 trillion in assets under custody and administration, is expanding into staking through a new partnership with Galaxy. The moves show digital assets increasingly being folded into the same infrastructure banks already use to serve institutional clients.
Nearly Three-Quarters of Institutions Plan to Buy More
Banks appear to be responding to growing client demand.
A 2026 Coinbase and EY-Parthenon survey of 351 institutional investment decision-makers found that nearly three-quarters plan to increase their digital asset allocations.
74% expect crypto prices to rise over the next 12 months.
The survey found 66% already have exposure through spot crypto ETFs or ETPs, while 81% prefer accessing spot crypto through registered investment vehicles.
Demand is also spreading beyond Bitcoin. 85% are using or interested in stablecoins for cash management and money movement, while 64% of asset managers are interested in tokenizing their own assets, up from 40% in 2025.
Regulation Is Changing the Calculation
The regulatory environment is changing alongside institutional demand.
Europe is operating under MiCA, while the UK's Financial Conduct Authority has finalized rules for its incoming cryptoasset regime. On August 26, the British government announced plans to give the Bank of England a new secondary objective supporting innovation in payments and digital money, including stablecoins.
Among institutions planning to increase their crypto holdings, 65% cited greater regulatory clarity as a key driver. Yet uncertainty remains a major obstacle, with 66% identifying regulation as their primary concern when investing in digital assets.
"Banks require proven technology that fits within their existing internal compliance parameters," said Julian Sawyer, CEO of Zodia Solutions. "The institutions that will win the race into digital assets will own the financial relationships that follow."
Sawyer argues that banks will increasingly need partners capable of taking them from strategy through implementation.
"Institutions need partners that work with them from strategy through to live operations, helping them design the right operating model before they build, deploy the infrastructure to run it, and then expand into new revenue-generating services through a single platform," he said.
Crypto M&A Is Accelerating
Institutions are also buying the infrastructure they need. Crypto M&A reached $8.6 billion across 267 deals in 2025. By June 2026, companies had already completed 144 deals worth $11.8 billion, according to Architect Partners data reported by The Wall Street Journal.
For traditional financial institutions, acquisitions and partnerships offer a faster route into custody, trading and tokenization than developing every piece of infrastructure internally. Standard Chartered's move to absorb Zodia Custody is one example of that convergence.
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Bitcoin custody may be the most recognizable entry point, but tokenized money could have a much broader impact on banking. Standard Chartered and HSBC's transaction showed regulated bank deposits moving across Swift's blockchain infrastructure, with 17 banks across six continents preparing to participate in the wider rollout.
HSBC's Tokenised Deposit Service is already live across six markets and supports seven currencies, giving institutional clients access to liquidity around the clock. Banks are now assembling several pieces at once: Bitcoin custody, tokenized deposits, stablecoins, staking and asset tokenization.
2026 Is Becoming the Year Banks Build
Bitcoin's return above $80,000 has put crypto back in the spotlight, but the bigger shift may be happening inside the banks themselves.
Citi is preparing Bitcoin custody. BNY is bringing staking to a platform overseeing $62.6 trillion in assets. Standard Chartered and HSBC are moving tokenized deposits across blockchain infrastructure, while nearly three-quarters of institutional investors say they plan to increase their digital asset allocations.
Sawyer, who previously helped build Starling Bank and later held senior roles at Gemini, Bitstamp and Zodia Custody, sees ownership of those financial relationships as the bigger prize.
After years of pilots and experiments, banks are beginning to treat digital assets as another part of the financial infrastructure they need to own.
Reporting by Lidia Yadlos
