In short
- Moody’s 2026 Digital Finance Outlook report has concluded that blockchain-based tech may present a “foundational infrastructure layer” for the finance trade this yr.
- The rankings company emphasizes that digital asset expertise will permit for a higher diploma of interoperability and effectivity.
- The agency's analysts additionally warn that regulatory harmonisation could also be required to ensure that adoption to unfold globally.
The expertise underlying digital property will evolve right into a “foundational infrastructure layer” for the monetary companies trade in 2026, in keeping with a brand new report from ranking company Moody’s.
Writing in its 2026 Digital Finance Outlook, Moody’s predicts that blockchain-based tech can have a rising impression this yr on the capital allocation and market operations of conventional monetary companies.
Affirming that stablecoins and tokenized property attracted adoption in funds and liquidity administration in 2025, the report goes on to focus on this yr’s seemingly traits within the evolution and adoption of digital property.
This contains using blockchains and different new tech to foster a “unified digital ecosystem” through which previously disparate sectors—akin to transition finance, non-public credit score and rising markets—will change into extra built-in.
“Digital finance platforms now host tokenized US Treasurys and structured credit score merchandise,” the report says. “Use of the brand new expertise will decide up additional within the coming yr, and can spotlight effectivity beneficial properties, though operational, regulatory, and cyber dangers stay.”
The report additionally forecasts the rising use of tokenized issuance and programmable settlement as a way to present effectivity beneficial properties, serving to monetary establishments to speed up liquidity turnover (changing property into money), whereas additionally lowering reconciliation work and reducing different prices.
Co-author Cristiano Ventricelli, VP-Senior Analyst of Digital Property at Moody’s, reiterates that evolving applied sciences akin to stablecoins, tokenization and blockchains are going to “interconnect” areas of finance that had been as soon as separate.
“A number of establishments are positioning to undertake stablecoins for cross-border funds and liquidity administration, serving to to bridge digital and conventional finance,” he advised Decrypt. “In the meantime, asset tokenization is gaining traction, making it simpler and more cost effective to difficulty and commerce property, and opening up new alternatives in markets that had been beforehand exhausting to entry.”
Total, Ventricelli instructed that blockchain-based expertise is already streamlining conventional monetary processes, one thing which can present impetus for extra monetary establishments and repair companies to roll out their very own options.
He predicted, “As these improvements mature, the markets will more and more compete on the energy and maturity of their infrastructure layers that aren’t solely safe and environment friendly but in addition extremely interoperable, permitting for seamless integration with present monetary methods and narrowing the hole between outdated and new finance fashions.”
Regulatory fragmentation
Whereas the report declares that digital finance has entered “a brand new section” as we enter 2026, Ventricelli additionally accepts that progress might be slowed down by a number of key challenges.
“One of many greatest is the dearth of harmonized rules throughout nations, which results in fragmented infrastructure and makes establishments cautious about adopting new digital merchandise at scale,” he defined.
Whereas some areas–most notably the EU with its MiCA regulation–have been harmonising on regulation, fragmentation elsewhere makes it much less seemingly that completely different methods will have the ability to work collectively.
And for Ventricelli, this will increase operational dangers and makes digital property much less liquid, whereas he provides that rising adoption might, at the least within the shorter time period, improve the chance of cyberattacks.
There’s little doubt that mainstream monetary adoption of blockchain-based expertise is rising, as evidenced by latest ETF filings and launches, for instance, with CoinShares’ annual report revealing that digital funds attracted over $47 billion in funding final yr.
But when such traits are to proceed and broaden, Moody’s argues that robust infrastructure and broad participation is required.
Ventricelli mentioned, “With out clear cross-border cooperation and regulatory readability, these benefits is probably not absolutely realized, and the general development of digital finance might be restricted.”
