Institutional Crypto Adoption in Europe in 2026: Expert Insights and Outlook

Crypto adoption continues to advance rapidly. In European banking, Bitcoin, Ethereum and co. are becoming increasingly popular investments among retail customers. According to one of our studies, 25 percent of EU citizens have owned –  or currently own –  digital assets. Spain is in the lead with 29 percent; France is catching up with around 23 percent. For banks, this means that when they move into digital assets and cryptocurrencies, they can tap existing potential of between 23 and 29 percent of their existing customer base – in addition to those who find out about the institution due to its crypto offering.

In this article, Boerse Stuttgart Digital’s Stephanie Hurry (Head of Business Development) and Dr Ulli Spankowski (Chief Digital & Product Officer) share exclusive insights into how banks can use a regulated infrastructure to transform this demand into market-ready offerings today, and how the institutional market for cryptocurrencies could evolve in 2026.

Brief summary

• European banks can draw on immediate potential of 23 to 29 percent of their existing customer base for newly created crypto offerings.

• Overall, crypto adoption in Europe is making great strides in 2026, but at varying speeds. The DACH region and Spain are trailblazers, while Northern Europe has a stronger focus on investor protection.

• In 2026, regulated crypto trade is developing from an isolated offering to a fully integrated standard bank product, according to Dr Ulli Spankowski, Chief Digital & Product Officer of Boerse Stuttgart Digital and Chief Digital Officer of Boerse Stuttgart Group.

• Stablecoins and tokenisation are moving to the forefront of the financial infrastructure, in order to shorten internal settlement cycles and reduce the cost of security processing.

• Strict regulatory requirements through DORA and complex internal approval processes mean that financial institutions are relying more heavily on external infrastructure partners.

• As a partner, Boerse Stuttgart Digital enables banks, brokers and asset managers to integrate crypto solutions in a modular manner that is compliant with regulations, without having to give up control over their customer relationships.

Europe is making great strides in crypto adoption – but at varying speeds

Thanks to the regulatory clarity provided by MiCAR, Europe has, above all since the beginning of 2025, established itself as a pioneer in the institutional and regulated adoption of digital assets. It is interesting to look at the details – because not every country in the continent is seeing the same amount of progress. While Germany, for example, has first-mover status, France is focusing on stablecoins, and Nordic countries such as Norway and Sweden tend to be more conservative, developing their offerings more slowly. In brief, adoption is progressing everywhere, but at varying speeds and with a focus on different aspects.

A look at ETP market volume shows how great the potential is: Between 2023 and 2024 alone, it increased by a factor of 2.5 from €4.4 billion to €10.8 billion. Today, it is at nearly €14.3 billion. However, the journey is far from over. Compared to the considerably older EU market, the US market currently has a volume that is seven times as large – a gap that also offers great potential for European players.

DACH region with Germany and Switzerland as pioneers

Germany and Switzerland in particular have solidified their role as pacemaker for the whole EU crypto market. In Germany, the early introduction of the crypto custody license and the eWpG (Germany’s Electronic Securities Act) proved to be a crucial locational advantage.

Large institutions, such as DZ Bank or DekaBank, acted as early movers here. Stephanie Hurry emphasises a feature of the German market: While other markets use closed-loop systems to minimise risks, this is not really an option in Germany due to civil-law requirements – here, assets must be delivered directly (in-kind withdrawal).

Increasing dynamic in Southern Europe and France

While in the north – for example in Sweden or Denmark – regulatory concerns regarding investor protection in the retail sector are still hampering banks a little, Southern Europe is taking a much more assertive approach. Spain, above all, where Boerse Stuttgart Digital has had a presence in Madrid since autumn 2025, has developed into a proactive fintech system.

Dr Ulli Spankowski offers exclusive insights into how things are developing there: ‘Spain is way ahead compared to other European countries. Banks and regulators worked hand in hand to drive adoption. Neobanks were the first to open up the market with crypto offerings, but the traditional banks followed swiftly, establishing the offering for the mass market.

• In Italy, on the other hand, a different trend was observed. Since Italian regulatory authorities act with more reticence when it comes to retail crypto, many banks there are focusing more on proprietary trading or services for corporate customers.

• Meanwhile, France stands out with an especially high level of interest in stablecoins and their use for efficient settlement processes.

In 2026, the success of an institution depends very much on the willingness of the local regulator. ‘Markets with a progressive regulator scale faster’, say both Stephanie Hurry and Dr Ulli Spankowski. In 2026, the regional differences already mentioned mean that banks have to choose very individual paths when implementing their digital asset strategies – depending on their location and target group.

2026 brings a change from isolated crypto offerings to an integrated digital asset strategy

2026 marks the transition from isolated crypto offerings to an integrated strategy for digital assets. Dr Ulli Spankowski sees it as a phase in which regulated crypto trade is becoming a standard bank product: ‘In 2026, it’s less about simply scaling up, and more about proving operative excellent. Institutions that integrate the crypto infrastructure directly into their existing core bank and risk systems have a good chance of establishing a favourable market position’.

He and Stephanie Hurry agree that three developments could be particularly interesting for financial institutions, of which 80 percent acknowledge the increasing significance of digital assets:

• Stablecoins are becoming more important: Stablecoins are becoming part of the core infrastructure, above all for payment transactions and internal settlement. Banks use them to reduce prefunding costs and shorten settlement cycles – without having to fundamentally change the end-customer product.

• Tokenisation: Tokenisation of real-world assets (RWA) is modernising investment banking. Boerse Stuttgart Group is already responding to the fragmented European settlement landscape in this segment with Seturion, a pan-European platform that breaks down national silos and can reduce costs by up to 90 percent.

• Convergence of use cases: The lines between crypto trading, stablecoins and tokenisation are becoming blurred. Institutions are increasingly demanding end-to-end solutions that bring together all asset classes in a regulated infrastructure.

Complexity as a challenge when implementing crypto offerings

Despite the regulatory clarity provided by MiCAR, many financial institutions face the challenge of building an infrastructure that supports these developments. In additional to these regulatory hurdles, there are also internal ones, as Stephanie Hurry explains: ‘In conversations with large European banks, I see the same pattern again and again. Often, it is not only external hurdles that slow down a project, but also internal alignment processes’.

This is not a surprise when you look at the structures of many banks. Deciding whether a crypto offering should be rolled out via headquarters, a subsidiary or a neobank brand often leads to complex debates.

Sooner or later, it comes down to the fundamental question: ‘Make or buy?’ – build the infrastructure yourself or rely on partners? Facing a lack of alternatives, early players in Switzerland often developed their own custody solutions. But in 2026 the market is clearly leaning towards partnerships. The reason is that, thanks to DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act) and the EBA Guidelines for ICT Third-Party Providers, the regulatory bar is very high.

To sum up: Benefit from 2026 developments with Boerse Stuttgart Digital

This is why production-ready infrastructures are becoming more important to banks. For Dr Ulli Spankowski, the era of isolated crypto silos has ended: ‘I’ve been noticing more often that financial institutions prioritise partners who do not complicate operations. Providers who demand that banks control parallel processes are quickly rejected during the selection process.’

This is where Boerse Stuttgart Digital’s approach comes in. The one-stop-shop solution provides banks, brokers, asset managers and all institutional players an integrated yet modular solution including trade, custody and brokerage. This allows banks, for example, to choose to retain full control over their customer relationships, while the technical and regulatory complexity is handled in the background by a specialised partner.

Do you, as a bank, broker, or asset manager, want to enable straightforward, secure, and regulated market access for yourself or your clients? Boerse Stuttgart Digital helps you achieve precisely that. Contact us for a consultation with no strings attached – we look forward to talking to you!

Sources

• ETFbook. ‘Crypto ETPs Dashboard’. Available online under: https://www.etfbook.com/dashboards/crypto-etp-eu, most recently viewed on 26.01.2026.

• Euronews. ‘Crypto ownership is on the rise in Europe: Who’s investing the most?’. Available online under: https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/12/27/crypto-ownership-is-on-the-rise-in-europe-whos-investing-the-most, most recently viewed on 26.01.2026.

• FinTech Magazine (BizClik). ‘Bitpanda: European Crypto Adoption Outpacing Bank Readiness’. Available online under: https://fintechmagazine.com/articles/bitpanda-european-crypto-adoption-outpacing-bank-readiness, most recently viewed on 26.01.2026.