Timothy Morano
Jan 20, 2026 19:52
Monica Long predicts stablecoins, tokenized assets, custody consolidation, and AI-blockchain convergence will drive $1T in institutional digital asset holdings by year-end.
Ripple (XRP) President Monica Long has laid out an ambitious roadmap for institutional crypto adoption in 2026, predicting that balance sheets will hold over $1 trillion in digital assets by year-end and roughly half of Fortune 500 companies will have formalized digital asset strategies.
The predictions, published January 20, center on four key areas: stablecoins becoming default settlement rails, mainstream institutional exposure, custody consolidation, and the convergence of blockchain with AI.
Stablecoins as Global Settlement Infrastructure
Long argues stablecoins will become “fully integrated into global payment systems—not as an alternative rail, but as the foundational one” within five years. She points to Visa and Stripe already integrating stablecoin rails into existing payment flows as evidence the shift is underway.
The numbers back the B2B thesis. According to Artemis Analytics data cited by Long, B2B stablecoin payments hit an annualized run-rate of $76 billion last year—a dramatic surge from monthly volumes below $100 million in early 2023.
What’s the catalyst? Trapped working capital. Long cites JPMorgan data showing over $700 billion sitting idle on S&P 1500 balance sheets, with another €1.3 trillion locked up across Europe. Stablecoins offer real-time liquidity and reduced carrying costs that CFOs can’t ignore.
Ripple’s own RLUSD stablecoin figures prominently in these predictions. The company recently received conditional OCC approval to charter the Ripple National Trust Bank—a move Long frames as “setting the precedent for institutional compliance.”
Fortune 500 Goes Onchain
The institutional momentum is already building. A 2025 Coinbase survey found 60% of Fortune 500 companies actively working on blockchain initiatives. More than 200 public companies now hold bitcoin in treasury, and digital asset treasury companies have grown from just four in 2020 to over 200 today.
The ETF market tells a similar story. Over 40 crypto ETFs launched in 2025, yet they still represent just 1-2% of the total U.S. ETF market. That gap suggests significant room for growth.
Long expects 5-10% of capital markets settlement to move onchain this year, driven by custodian banks and clearing houses adopting tokenization.
Custody M&A Heats Up
Crypto M&A reached $8.6 billion in 2025, and Long predicts custody will drive the next consolidation wave. She expects more than half of the world’s top 50 banks to formalize at least one new custody relationship in 2026.
Ripple has been active on this front, acquiring GTreasury and Hidden Road to expand its institutional offerings. The company also announced in December 2025 that AMINA Bank became Ripple Payments’ first European bank customer.
AI Meets Blockchain
The final piece: automation. Long envisions AI models working alongside blockchain infrastructure for real-time treasury management, automated margin calls, and dynamic portfolio rebalancing across tokenized assets. Zero-knowledge proofs will enable AI systems to assess creditworthiness without exposing sensitive data, she predicts.
Whether these predictions prove accurate remains to be seen. But with the GENIUS Act establishing a U.S. stablecoin framework and major banks exploring on-chain vault services, the institutional infrastructure Long describes is clearly taking shape. The question isn’t whether traditional finance adopts crypto rails—it’s how fast.
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