A survey of more than 1,000 global financial executives found that digital assets are no longer a speculative interest for the financial industry, but an operational imperative, with nearly three-quarters of respondents saying that financial institutions that cannot offer digital asset solutions risk losing their competitive position entirely.
The survey was conducted by Ripple in early 2026 and targeted banks, asset managers, fintechs, and corporate finance sectors across multiple regions. The results highlight an industry that has moved beyond the question of whether to adopt digital assets and is now focused on how to do so safely and at scale.
Stablecoins lead demand
Among all digital asset applications, stablecoins have generated the strongest consensus. 74% of respondents said stablecoins can improve cash flow efficiency and free up working capital trapped in slow payment systems.
The importance of this number lies in its context. Financial management is one of the most conservative functions in a financial institution. The stablecoins gaining momentum there represent a shift from speculative interest to utility, a distinction that is very important to regulators and institutional risk committees.
Fintech sets the pace
Fintechs outperform both traditional financial institutions and businesses in every adoption metric in the study. 31% of fintech respondents are already using stablecoins to collect payments on behalf of their customers. 29% directly accept stablecoin payments. Almost half build their own digital asset solutions in-house.
In contrast, companies are taking a more cautious approach. 74% plan to work with an external partner rather than build it in-house, and 71% prefer a single provider that can handle the entire digital asset infrastructure stack.
Custody is an important requirement
For institutions evaluating the tokenization of financial assets, custody ranks as the most important partner capability, cited by 89% of respondents. Banks placed greater emphasis on token lifecycle management at 82% and pre-issuance structured advice at 85%, suggesting that many institutions are seeking experienced guidance throughout implementation, not just technology adoption.
Security certifications, including ISO and SOC II compliance, were considered most important across the survey, with 97% of respondents across all segments considering them important or very important.
