Institutions entering crypto but face regulatory hurdles, execs say

Wall Street financial firms are actively adopting crypto infrastructure and tokenized real-world assets, but significant regulatory barriers remain, according to executives from Ondo Finance, Robinhood, and Babylon Labs. Speaking on a panel at the Consensus 2026 conference in Miami, the leaders agreed on the clear trend of institutional entry into the digital asset space. Ian de Bode, Chief Strategy Officer at Ondo, said Wall Street's move into crypto is now unmistakable, citing the recent partnership between Broadridge and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Robinhood's Nicola White added that banks are no longer asking what blockchain is but are instead discussing how to build on it. However, she noted that institutional crypto adoption is still constrained by robust legacy financial infrastructure and existing regulations.