The institutional crypto panel at Token 2049 dropped some serious alpha btw
Moderated by
@CNBC's Elaine Yu with:
→ Richard Teng (Binance CEO)
→ Hunter Horsley (Bitwise CEO)
→ Tim McCourt (CME Group)
→ Heath Tarbert (Circle President)
Here are the 7 key takeaways that matter ↓
1/ INSTITUTIONAL ADOPTION IS EXPLODING
@CMEGroup numbers tell the story:
Open interest: $30-40B daily (up 100% YoY)
Trading volume: $15B+ daily (up 200% YoY)
But here's what's wild:
Solana futures hit $1B open interest in 5 months
(Ethereum took 8 months, Bitcoin took 3 YEARS)
@solana went from $1B to $2B in open interest faster than any asset in CME history.
2/ 2025 IS THE MAINSTREAM ERA (BUT IT STARTED IN 2024)
@HHorsley: "A bank managing over $1 trillion approved crypto for the first time in July 2025. We met with them 50 times over 3 years."
What changed?
• ETF approvals unlocked access
• Regulatory clarity (finally)
• BlackRock, Schwab, Fidelity all embraced crypto
@_RichardTeng: "2024 was the inflection point. ETFs got approved. Narrative shifted."
The dam broke. Now it's a flood.
3/ WHO'S BUYING? EVERYONE.
@binance saw 2x institutional onboarding in 2024, continuing strong in 2025.
First wave: Trading desks (cross-asset trading, hedging, positioning)
Second wave:
• Corporates allocating 5-10% of treasuries
• Family offices
• Foundations and trusts
• Sovereign wealth funds
Third wave coming: Countries launching strategic reserves (Kazakhstan already announced).
4/ STABLE COINS = THE RAILS FOR EVERYTHING
Heath Tarbert: "Stablecoins aren't competitors to banks. They're pathways to other assets."
Key insight: USDC doesn't innately pay interest, but it enables:
• 24/7 global dollar access
• Tokenized lending products
• Onchain financial system
The network effect:
Institutions start with stable coins → discover they can buy other digital assets seamlessly → entire treasury management moves onchain
"2025 is the birth of the new internet financial system."
5/ DATs ARE HERE TO STAY (AND THEY'RE VALUABLE)
Over 200 companies globally have announced DAT strategies.
Why they matter:
For ecosystems: They become power users, advocates, and validators (via staking)
For capital markets: They provide access where mandates restrict direct crypto exposure
Example: Capital Group's Mark Casey can only invest in equities.
His fund is MicroStrategy's largest shareholder to get Bitcoin exposure.
Hunter: "DATs provide more apertures for investors to participate."
6/ REGULATORY CLARITY ≠ INNOVATION (BUT IT UNLOCKS CAPITAL)
@_RichardTeng's critical distinction:
"Innovation has always happened (ICOs, DeFi Summer, etc.) regardless of regulation."
But regulatory clarity unlocks:
• Institutional deployment
• Product innovation for mainstream
• Foreign direct investment competition
US regulatory shift is forcing global competition.
Every country now asking: "How do we match or surpass US to attract talent and capital?"
7/ THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS MATURING FAST
CME launching: Options on Solana, XRP futures expanding
Binance launched: "Crypto as a Service" - white-label infrastructure for banks/securities firms to offer crypto without building their own systems
@circle building: ARC blockchain with deterministic subsecond finality (doubling down on immutability while exploring optional reversal protocols for fraud)
@TimMcCourtCME: "Capital efficiencies, interrelatedness of products... it's growth versus growth for everyone on stage."
Collaboration > Competition when growing the pie.
The story has flipped: crypto isn’t waiting for institutions. Institutions are figuring out how to plug in, and this time, the rails are ready.
