Goldman Sachs: Regulatory Progress Will Drive the Next Wave of Institutional Cryptocurrency Adoption

Goldman Sachs stated that the improvement in the regulatory environment and the emergence of use cases for crypto assets beyond trading are creating a positive outlook for the industry, especially for infrastructure companies that support the ecosystem but are less affected by market cycles.

In a report released on Monday, the bank noted that regulatory uncertainty remains a major barrier to institutional participation, and this backdrop is changing rapidly. "We believe that the improvement in the regulatory environment is a key driver for the continued adoption of crypto assets by institutions, particularly for buy-side and sell-side financial institutions, while new use cases for crypto assets beyond trading are also developing," wrote the analyst team led by James Yaro. Yaro pointed out that the upcoming U.S. market structure legislation could be a key catalyst. Since President Donald Trump took office, the leadership of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has undergone a complete overhaul, and with Paul Atkins confirmed as chairman, the regulatory agency has retreated from years of aggressive enforcement against the crypto industry, dismissing nearly all pending cases and withdrawing from multiple court litigations. Trump has made the development of the U.S. crypto industry a core policy goal, and Atkins has also prioritized it at the SEC. The draft currently under consideration in Congress will clarify the regulatory framework for tokenized assets and decentralized finance projects, defining the responsibilities of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Goldman Sachs believes these steps are crucial for unlocking institutional capital. The report states that passing legislation in the first half of 2026 would be particularly important, as the U.S. midterm elections later that year could delay progress. The bank cited its survey data indicating that 35% of institutions view regulatory uncertainty as the biggest barrier to adopting crypto assets, while 32% believe regulatory clarity is the most important catalyst.