Ripple president Monica Long says blockchain is becoming the “operating layer of modern finance” and global balance sheets will hold $1 trillion in digital assets.
Roughly 250 of the US’s largest corporations will either hold crypto or use blockchain-powered financial instruments by the end of 2026, says Ripple president Monica Long.
In a blog post on Monday, Long argued that the crypto and blockchain industry has fought over the past few years to lay the “technical and regulatory groundwork” to spur mass adoption and take the sector mainstream.
As part of her predictions, which also covered topics such as stablecoins, crypto custody, and artificial intelligence, Long said that blockchain is becoming the “operating layer of modern finance” and that 2026 will see a huge uptick in institutional adoption.
“By the end of 2026, balance sheets will hold over $1 trillion in digital assets, and roughly half of Fortune 500 companies will have formalized digital asset strategies.”
“And not just crypto exposure, but active participation across tokenized assets, digital asset treasuries, stablecoins, onchain T-bills and programmable financial instruments.”
Long pointed to a Coinbase survey from mid-2025 that found that 6 out of 10 executives from Fortune 500 companies had indicated that their employers were already working on blockchain initiatives.
Adding to her argument, she highlighted that there has been strong growth in the number of public companies putting Bitcoin (BTC) on their balance sheets.
The number of Fortune 500 companies currently holding BTC is limited; however, GameStop is one example, after it made its first purchase of 4,710 BTC back in May 2025. Block Inc and Tesla are also on the list.
“And digital asset treasury (DAT) companies have grown from just four in 2020 to over 200 today, with nearly 100 formed in 2025 alone,” Long added.
Long also made a strong prediction for the stablecoin market, tipping the assets to become a primary tool for global settlement in the next few years on the back of regulatory advancements, plays from heavyweights such as Visa and Mastercard, and the utility of the technology.
“Within the next five years, stablecoins will become fully integrated into global payment systems — not as an alternative rail, but as the foundational one,” she said.
Meanwhile, Long said she expects a wave of financial institutions such as banks, service providers and crypto companies to start directly custodying crypto to accelerate “their blockchain strategies.”
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She also said the convergence of artificial intelligence and blockchain to supercharge the industry and provide utility in “ways that were previously impossible.”
“Stablecoins and smart contracts will enable treasuries to manage liquidity, execute margin calls and optimize yield across onchain repo agreements, all in real-time without manual intervention,” she said, adding:
“Privacy will be key to this expansion. Zero-knowledge proofs will allow AI systems to assess creditworthiness or risk profiles without exposing sensitive data, reducing friction in lending and unlocking broader adoption of digital assets across regulated markets.”
