5 Things That Will Transform Digital Asset Space in 2026 – Zodia Custody Report

2026 is the year digital assets will “grow up,” says Zodia Custody’s 2026 predictions report. The Standard Chartered-backed digital asset custodian looked into custody, collateral, and connectivity as the rising backbone of “market infrastructure.” At the same time, stablecoins, staking, and tokenisation are opening up capital efficiency for institutions globally, they said.

Building Blocks of a New Market Architecture

According to Anoosh Arevshatian, Chief Product Officer at Zodia Custody, as 2026 approaches, the company is seeing a clear theme. “Institutional digital assets are moving from possibility to productivity,” she claims. “We are no longer talking about pilots or proofs of concept, we are talking about infrastructure.”

Notably, the report argues:

Per Arevshatian,

“As 2026 approaches, one theme is becoming clear: 2026 will not be defined by speculation or proof of concepts, but by execution and productivity. Institutions will focus on interoperability, trust, and capital efficiency, and digital asset infrastructure will gradually drive payments, clearing, and settlement as part of the world’s financial backbone.”

Zodia Custody’s clients and partners showcase a shift from experimentation to execution, the executive says. They are looking towards a future of finance that is digital, as well as governed, interoperable, and trusted.

“Custody, settlement, staking, tokenisation, stablecoins – these are no longer fringe innovations; they are the building blocks of a new market architecture,” Arevshatian concludes.

Five Things to Watch in 2026 Digital Asset Space

Zodia Custody’s report lists five key elements to keep an eye on this upcoming year.

1. Custody matures into critical infrastructure

This, says the report is a crucial move as it forms “the key orchestration layer needed to unlock digital asset activities.” Custody is “the operational core of institutional adoption; the infrastructure upon which everything else runs.”

Custody will no longer be a service, but a system, with compliance, risk, and operational resilience.

Regulators will work on global digital custodian standards, rising use cases will lead to digital asset custodians, institutions will adopt multi-custodian models, and custodians will partner up to expand ecosystem connectivity for end users.

Deborah Algeo Managing Director, Solutions, commented that, by 2026, “banks will treat digital-asset infrastructure like cloud computing – critical to operations, but not something to reinvent. Sub custody, white-label, and SaaS solutions will become the fastest, safest route to market.”

Moreover, Jay Tan, Product Innovation & Advisory Specialist, argued that custody will be “treated as critical financial market infrastructure – as fundamental as payments or clearing.”

“We’re seeing regulators and clients align around one clear idea: custody isn’t just safekeeping, it’s market infrastructure. By 2026, I expect board-level policies to mandate multiple custodians and continuous compliance evidence by default. The winners will be those who make regulatory conformity effortless, embedding compliance and security by design,” Tan wrote.

Meanwhile, the company is a Canton Foundation member, describing the Canton Network is a ‘network of networks’ for institutional custody.

2. Stablecoins evolve into liquidity engines

In 2026, stablecoins will not be just settlement tokens, but also programmable treasury tools.

Safe and compliant stablecoin infrastructure and global regulatory clarity will boost the ecosystem and the rise of bank-issued and institutional-grade stablecoins.

Moreover, stablecoin treasuries will provide 24/7 liquidity, automated payments, and yield-bearing strategies.

“The line between cash, collateral, and yield-bearing assets will continue to blur,” the report argues.

According to Kelly Lai, Head of Product Innovation & Advisory, stablecoins are “no longer a crypto convenience, they’re the connective tissue of institutional finance. For banks, asset managers, and corporates, they offer what legacy systems can’t: real-time liquidity, programmable control, and transparent backing.”

3. Collateral moves in real time

Next year will see digital-asset collateral unlocking “trillions in idle capital,” Zodia Custody says. The growth of real-time margining and settlement will improve transparency but also compress capital cycles.

Notably, the experts expect regulators to recognize tokenised assets as eligible collateral, and tokenised money market funds and RWAs to enter collateral pools.

“Custody and collateral will merge into one dynamic ecosystem, where capital is always safe, yet always working,” says the report.

“Collateral is the quiet force that powers capital markets, and digital assets are rewriting its playbook. As controls, regulation, and confidence mature, what started as cautious experimentation will become systemic change. Slowly, then suddenly,” argues Steven Taylor, Strategic Product Development.

4. Staking and DeFi become yield infrastructure

Per the report, staking will shift from “an optional activity to a default feature of digital asset custody.”

At the same time, permissioned DeFi vaults will provide regulated access to decentralised yield, with yield being rebuilt as transparent, programmable, and on-chain. Insitutional yield will enter a novel phase with safe connectivity to vetted DeFi and staking networks.

Finally, tokenised funds and on-chain credit pools will integrate with custody workflows.

Nezhda Aliyeva Head of Product, argued that staking will no longer be a niche yield strategy. Rather, it will be “an operational necessity for institutions seeking compliant, risk-adjusted returns on digital assets.”

Therefore, institutional staking is already moving from “experiment to expectation.” Clients want yield, but one provided as other financial operations: segregated, secure, and compliant. “That’s why we’re building staking not as an add-on, but as an integrated capability within custody itself,” Aliyeva said.

Also, Sahil Sood, Product Innovation & Advisory Specialist, highlighted that the company is seeing “a convergence of institutional liquidity with DeFi pools, unlocking fascinating new use-cases, from looping strategies with tokenised RWAs to hybrid borrow/lend models that combine DeFi liquidity with centralised collateral.”

Sood continued: “Protocols like Morpho are proving that risk-managed DeFi can deliver compelling yields and transparency. By 2026, private DeFi vaults and permissioned markets will be core products for institutions.”

5. Tokenised assets go mainstream

The report admitted that this has been predicted many times before. However, the situation is different in 2026, it argues.

Notably, the market has seen its infrastructure and tooling improve, tokenised commodities recorded record inflows, and money market funds and short-term credit instruments, among others, are issued, traded, and collateralised on-chain.

Custody and collateral infrastructure will make tokenised assets as seamless and secure, while compliant tooling will provide KYC and on-chain identity solutions that will result in institutions treating tokenised funds as digital cash equivalents. They will earn yield while remaining compliant.

Finally, “In 2026, capital efficiency – not speculation – will define the institutional digital asset era. Off-exchange settlement (OES) will be the gateway that makes it safe, compliant, and scalable,” says Wing Cheah, Head of Product, Interchange.

“Institutions aren’t chasing speculation; they’re chasing capital efficiency. Off-exchange settlement delivers that by putting custody and control back where they belong. As tokenised collateral and regulated venues converge, OES will become the default workflow for serious institutional participation,” Cheah concludes.

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