Institutions Aren’t Buying Crypto, They’re Buying the Rails

Institutional capital is flowing into digital markets. But it is not chasing speculative altcoins. Instead, it is targeting tokenization, custody, and on-chain infrastructure.

That was the clear message from a recent BeInCrypto Digital Summit panel, where executives from across exchanges, infrastructure, and tokenization platforms discussed how traditional finance is approaching crypto.

The discussion featured Federico Variola, CEO of Phemex; Maria Adamjee, Global Head of Investor Relations and Market Structure at Polygon; Jeremy Ng, Founder and CEO of OpenEden; and Gideon Greaves, Head of Investment at Lisk. 

Operating Exposure, Not Speculation

Maria Adamjee, Global Head of Investor Relations and Market Structure at Polygon, said institutions are no longer debating whether crypto belongs in portfolios. The question now is how to size it.

“Institutions aren’t debating if crypto belongs anymore,” said Maria Adamjee from Polygon . “They’re figuring out how to size it as a new asset class.”

However, she stressed that most large asset managers are not taking outright balance sheet risk on volatile tokens. Instead, they are seeking “operating exposure” through tokenization, custody, and on-chain settlement.

In other words, they are buying access to the infrastructure rather than speculating on price swings.

Conviction Still Being Tested

Federico Variola, CEO of Phemex, struck a more cautious tone. He questioned whether institutions have truly committed for the long term.

“Not many companies have gone really full crypto,” the Phemex CEO said. Many institutions, he added, structure partnerships in ways that do not disrupt their core business lines.

He warned that current enthusiasm may not survive a prolonged downturn. “If we enter a longer bear period, maybe we wouldn’t see as much interest as we are seeing today,” he said.

That raises a critical question. Are institutions building strategic allocations, or are they hedging against disruption while limiting risk?

Tokenization as the Bridge

Jeremy Ng, founder and CEO of OpenEden, argued that the strongest institutional case lies in tokenized real-world assets.

He pointed to growing hedge fund participation in crypto and rising plans to increase exposure in 2026. At the same time, he emphasized that tokenization solves a practical problem: cost.

“When large asset managers put products on-chain, it reduces costs,” Ng said. Blockchain can replace transfer agents and fund administrators by acting as a proof-of-record layer.

For institutions, this is less about ideology and more about efficiency.

The Market Structure Gap

Still, structural barriers remain.

Polygon’s Adamjee noted that institutions struggle to price most crypto tokens. “Are they priced based off revenues, or network value?” she asked. “There’s no real P/E ratio associated with them.”

As a result, institutional allocations skew heavily toward Bitcoin, Ethereum, and infrastructure plays. The broader altcoin market lacks the valuation frameworks traditional finance relies on.

Ng echoed that concern. “90% of these tokens that have been launched don’t really have a real business,” he said. “They are not really generating fees.”

Without revenue models and clear value accrual, many tokens fail institutional due diligence.

Fewer Tokens, More Real Businesses?

Variola acknowledged that the industry itself bears responsibility. Exchanges, he said, have often pushed new listings aggressively.

“As an industry we should be policing a little bit better,” Ng said, adding that there should likely be fewer tokens overall.

Polygon’s Adamjee agreed that current incentives reward token proliferation. Exchanges earn fees from listings, creating tension between growth and quality control.

That dynamic complicates institutional adoption. Large asset managers require transparency, durable revenue, and predictable market structure.

Infrastructure First

Taken together, the panel’s message was clear. Institutions are not embracing crypto culture wholesale. They are integrating blockchain, which improves efficiency.

They favor low-volatility assets, regulated wrappers, and tokenized versions of traditional products. They are building exposure to the rails.

For now, infrastructure and tokenization lead. Speculative tokens follow at a distance.

The next phase of institutional adoption may depend less on price cycles and more on whether crypto can build businesses that look familiar to traditional capital — with revenue, structure, and accountability to match.