Institutional engagement with Web3 has grown substantially in 2025. Financial institutions, fintechs, and global enterprises are making long-term moves into Web3, driven by business advantages and use cases that address real operational challenges.

What's Driving Institutional Interest in Web3?

Efficiency Gains and Settlement Speed

Cross-border settlement using legacy financial infrastructure is slow, costly, and opaque. Institutions are increasingly exploring the potential utility of blockchain rails to enable near-instant, global cross-border settlement without relying on expensive intermediaries or outdated infrastructure.

Yield and DeFi Potential

Institutions are exploring on-chain yield strategies and DeFi products as sources of return. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and BlackRock are all actively testing DeFi lending using compliant modules and permissioned pools.

Tokenization and Modern Asset Management

Real-world asset tokenization enables faster trading, fractional ownership, and improved liquidity for traditionally illiquid assets. The tokenized asset market reached $24-25 billion in 2025, representing 380% growth over three years, with institutions in the real estate, private credit, and debt markets becoming increasingly interested in tokenisation.

Customer Experience and Reach

Fintechs are embedding stablecoins and wallets as new features enabling them to offer new capabilities for developers and consumers, capture new audiences, and increase user retention. This includes programmable payments, automated settlements, and direct access to global markets that weren't possible with traditional infrastructure.

Competitive Pressure and Innovation

As markets continue to saturate, staying relevant means institutions need to continue to evolve and adapt. Innovations like programmable money, on-chain finance, and automated business models could be key to simplifying user experiences, retaining existing users, and attracting unexplored demographics.

How Companies Are Using Crypto

Regulated Investments

Digital asset investment products remain highly sought after by institutional investors, with analysts recently reporting that year-to-date inflows have reached $35 billion. Total inflows were $3.3 billion last week, a continuation of the positive growth in interest throughout 2025, with twenty seven weeks of net inflows already this year. These regulated vehicles are providing institutional investors with familiar compliance frameworks and custody protections.

Fintech Integrations

The integration of blockchain-based solutions into major Web2 platforms has become increasingly common. From PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin, to Revolut providing commission-free trading across Europe, or Stripe enabling merchants to accept crypto payments, these integrations demonstrate blockchain's future as a valuable tool for delivering new utility.

Bank Involvement

JPMorgan, Citi, and others are building blockchain-based settlement and tokenization platforms for institutional clients. JPMorgan's Kinexys processes $2 billion daily in blockchain payments for global clients including Siemens and BlackRock, enabling instant FX settlements. Citi's Token Services processes billions in 24/7 cross-border treasury transfers across US, UK, Singapore, and Hong Kong operations.

Custody and Infrastructure Scaling

Fidelity, Nasdaq, and other traditional players have all launched crypto custody and clearing services to meet institutional demand. Nasdaq recently partnered with Gemini to integrate crypto custody and staking services, a reflection of the deep partnership set to be formed between Web3 and Web2 institutions.

Public Sector Momentum

134 countries, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring or developing CBDCs, with 3 having fully launched a digital currency. Alongside government-led pilot schemes, independent charities and supranational organizations are also exploring how blockchain technology can power more transparent transactions and enable the launch of highly scalable solutions.

What This Means for Web3

Institutional participation marks a shift toward mainstream adoption that raises standards across Web3.

The heightened expectations of institutions around compliance, stability, and interoperability are helping to drive innovations in the user experience, strengthen system's resilience, and provide a further incentive for the ongoing development of new regulatory frameworks. Enhanced infrastructure requirements benefit all users by improving security and operational reliability.

For platforms like TON, institutional adoption creates opportunities through unique positioning. TON's integration with Telegram's billion-user ecosystem provides both the mass user base institutions want to reach and the technical infrastructure they need. The platform's institutional credibility is continuing to grow through new custody partnerships and the expansion of enterprise adoption.

Conclusion

Institutional adoption represents the start of a more mature, utility-driven phase of Web3. As global enterprises, fintechs, and financial institutions continue investing in crypto infrastructure, opportunities emerge for platforms that can deliver both institutional performance and mainstream accessibility.

The evidence shows this transition is underway, driven by measurable business benefits including cost savings, efficiency gains, and new revenue opportunities. Future blogs in this series will explore the infrastructure institutions need to participate in Web3 and what the biggest institutional use cases driving the continued growth of the TON ecosystem.