{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"162170","rtpr_id":"nBw8lVG4Ha-20261006","ticker":"STT","exchange":"NYSE","all_tickers":["STT"],"title":"Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets Accelerates as Trust and Regulation Emerge as Critical Dependencies","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-10-06T14:30:00.138Z","article_body":"Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets Accelerates as Trust and Regulation\nEmerge as Critical Dependencies\n\n\n * State Street research finds institutions increasingly prioritize regulatory\nclarity, cybersecurity and digital cash infrastructure as adoption scales.\n\nState Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) today released findings from its 2026\nDigital Assets Study(1), showing that institutional investors are becoming\nincreasingly confident in the long-term future of digital assets while placing\ngreater emphasis on trust, cybersecurity, regulation and market infrastructure\nas adoption grows.\n\nThe global study of 300 asset managers, asset owners and wealth managers found\nthat 51% expect digital assets to become mainstream within five years, if they\nhave not already, up from 42% in 2025 and 11% in 2024. Just 3% believe digital\nassets will never become mainstream.\n\nOperational readiness is also rising. More than one-third (35%) of respondents\nalready manage or distribute digital assets, while another 28% have the\nprovider relationships and infrastructure in place to do so if client demand\narises.\n\nThe research suggests that institutional priorities are evolving alongside\nadoption. Experience operating within an appropriate regulatory framework was\nidentified as the most important characteristic of a digital asset service\nprovider, cited by 69% of respondents. Cybersecurity ranked second at 54%,\nfollowed by financial strength at 47%.\n\n“Five years ago, most institutions were trying to decide whether digital\nassets mattered,” said Angus Fletcher, head of Digital Asset Solutions at\nState Street. “Today the conversation is much more practical. Investors are\nspending less time debating the technology and more time focused on\ninfrastructure, operations, regulation and risk. That tells us the market is\nmaturing.”\n\nRespondents expect digital assets to have the greatest material impact on\ncustody (66%), payments (54%) and fund issuance (51%). Fund issuance and\ntokenization emerged as the leading strategic priority, cited by 52% of\nrespondents.\n\nCost reduction and efficiency were identified as the largest expected benefit\nof digital assets by 53% of respondents. Faster settlement was the most\nfrequently cited advantage (67%), followed by new client acquisition (58%) and\nincreased liquidity (53%).\n\nDigital cash emerged as one of the study’s most significant themes. Almost\nhalf of respondents (45%) described digital cash as very important to their\ndigital asset strategy. Settlement of tokenized assets was identified as the\nleading use case (64%), while bank-issued US dollar stablecoins (49%) and\ntokenized deposits (48%) were the identified as the preferred forms of digital\ncash.\n\n“People often focus on tokenized securities, but settlement still requires a\ntrusted form of money,” Donna Milrod, chief product officer at State Street,\nadded. “That is why digital cash has moved much closer to the center of\ninstitutional strategy. The investors we surveyed increasingly see digital\nassets and digital cash developing together because one depends on the\nother.”\n\nOther key findings include:\n\n\n * Digital asset allocations continue to rise: Average digital asset allocations\ncurrently stand at approximately 11% and are expected to rise to 17% over the\nnext three years, compared with 7% rising to 16% in the 2025 study.\n\n * Institutions drive future distribution growth: Approximately 82% of asset\nmanagers plan to distribute digital assets to institutional investors.\n\n * Artificial intelligence is a critical enabler: 57% described artificial\nintelligence as critical or very important to their digital asset operations,\nincluding applications in smart contracts, cybersecurity and data management.\n\n * Tokenization funds lead product development: ETFs and traditional long-only\nfunds emerged as the preferred vehicles for digital asset distribution, with\n84% planning tokenized versions of existing products.\n\n * Hybrid market models are here to stay: Nearly one in five respondents believe\na fully on-chain market structure will never replace today’s hybrid model of\ntraditional and digital infrastructure.\n\n * Digital cash adoption remains early: While only 24% are already using or\nprepared to use digital cash today, 46% expect to be able to do so within the\nnext 12 months.\n\nThe findings align with State Street's strategy of helping clients navigate\nthe continued adoption of digital assets, with a focus on areas such as\ntokenization, digital cash and the infrastructure needed to support their\ngrowth. The full 2026 Digital Assets Study is available here\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statestreet.com%2Fus%2Fen%2Finsights%2Fdigital-assets-study-2026&esheet=54616997&newsitemid=20261006889095&lan=en-US&anchor=here&index=1&md5=f6f6eaccca500bc1b3a8da1a248cd49d)\n.\n\n(1) The State Street 2026 Digital Assets Study surveyed 300 senior executives\nfrom asset managers, asset owners and wealth managers across North America,\nEurope, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America between July 20, 2026 and\nAugust 19, 2026 to examine institutional adoption, investment priorities and\noperational readiness for digital assets.\n\nAbout State Street Corporation\n\nState Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers\nof financial services to institutional investors including investment\nservicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With\n$57.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $6.3\ntrillion* in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, State Street\noperates globally in more than 100 geographic markets and employs\napproximately 51,000 worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's\nwebsite at www.statestreet.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statestreet.com&esheet=54616997&newsitemid=20261006889095&lan=en-US&anchor=www.statestreet.com&index=2&md5=44874fdc065aa38fd1e9aa617f4659fe)\n.\n\n*Assets under management as of June 30, 2026 includes approximately $157\nbillion of assets with respect to SPDR® products for which State Street\nGlobal Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing\nagent. SSGA FD and State Street Investment Management are affiliated.\n\n© 2026 State Street Corporation\n\n9164092.1.1.GBL.RTL\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006889095/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006889095/en/)\n\nMedia Contacts:\n\n\n\nKate Cheung (APAC)\n\nkate.cheung@StateStreet.com (mailto:kate.cheung@StateStreet.com)\n\nLauren Fraser (EMEA)\n\nLFraser1@statestreet.com (mailto:LFraser1@statestreet.com)\n\nBrendan Paul (North America)\n\nBpaul2@statestreet.com (mailto:Bpaul2@statestreet.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw8lVG4Ha-20261006","title":"Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets Accelerates as Trust and Regulation Emerge as Critical Dependencies","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"STT","created":"2026-10-06T14:30:00.138Z","tickers":["STT"],"exchange":"NYSE","article_body":"Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets Accelerates as Trust and Regulation\nEmerge as Critical Dependencies\n\n\n * State Street research finds institutions increasingly prioritize regulatory\nclarity, cybersecurity and digital cash infrastructure as adoption scales.\n\nState Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) today released findings from its 2026\nDigital Assets Study(1), showing that institutional investors are becoming\nincreasingly confident in the long-term future of digital assets while placing\ngreater emphasis on trust, cybersecurity, regulation and market infrastructure\nas adoption grows.\n\nThe global study of 300 asset managers, asset owners and wealth managers found\nthat 51% expect digital assets to become mainstream within five years, if they\nhave not already, up from 42% in 2025 and 11% in 2024. Just 3% believe digital\nassets will never become mainstream.\n\nOperational readiness is also rising. More than one-third (35%) of respondents\nalready manage or distribute digital assets, while another 28% have the\nprovider relationships and infrastructure in place to do so if client demand\narises.\n\nThe research suggests that institutional priorities are evolving alongside\nadoption. Experience operating within an appropriate regulatory framework was\nidentified as the most important characteristic of a digital asset service\nprovider, cited by 69% of respondents. Cybersecurity ranked second at 54%,\nfollowed by financial strength at 47%.\n\n“Five years ago, most institutions were trying to decide whether digital\nassets mattered,” said Angus Fletcher, head of Digital Asset Solutions at\nState Street. “Today the conversation is much more practical. Investors are\nspending less time debating the technology and more time focused on\ninfrastructure, operations, regulation and risk. That tells us the market is\nmaturing.”\n\nRespondents expect digital assets to have the greatest material impact on\ncustody (66%), payments (54%) and fund issuance (51%). Fund issuance and\ntokenization emerged as the leading strategic priority, cited by 52% of\nrespondents.\n\nCost reduction and efficiency were identified as the largest expected benefit\nof digital assets by 53% of respondents. Faster settlement was the most\nfrequently cited advantage (67%), followed by new client acquisition (58%) and\nincreased liquidity (53%).\n\nDigital cash emerged as one of the study’s most significant themes. Almost\nhalf of respondents (45%) described digital cash as very important to their\ndigital asset strategy. Settlement of tokenized assets was identified as the\nleading use case (64%), while bank-issued US dollar stablecoins (49%) and\ntokenized deposits (48%) were the identified as the preferred forms of digital\ncash.\n\n“People often focus on tokenized securities, but settlement still requires a\ntrusted form of money,” Donna Milrod, chief product officer at State Street,\nadded. “That is why digital cash has moved much closer to the center of\ninstitutional strategy. The investors we surveyed increasingly see digital\nassets and digital cash developing together because one depends on the\nother.”\n\nOther key findings include:\n\n\n * Digital asset allocations continue to rise: Average digital asset allocations\ncurrently stand at approximately 11% and are expected to rise to 17% over the\nnext three years, compared with 7% rising to 16% in the 2025 study.\n\n * Institutions drive future distribution growth: Approximately 82% of asset\nmanagers plan to distribute digital assets to institutional investors.\n\n * Artificial intelligence is a critical enabler: 57% described artificial\nintelligence as critical or very important to their digital asset operations,\nincluding applications in smart contracts, cybersecurity and data management.\n\n * Tokenization funds lead product development: ETFs and traditional long-only\nfunds emerged as the preferred vehicles for digital asset distribution, with\n84% planning tokenized versions of existing products.\n\n * Hybrid market models are here to stay: Nearly one in five respondents believe\na fully on-chain market structure will never replace today’s hybrid model of\ntraditional and digital infrastructure.\n\n * Digital cash adoption remains early: While only 24% are already using or\nprepared to use digital cash today, 46% expect to be able to do so within the\nnext 12 months.\n\nThe findings align with State Street's strategy of helping clients navigate\nthe continued adoption of digital assets, with a focus on areas such as\ntokenization, digital cash and the infrastructure needed to support their\ngrowth. The full 2026 Digital Assets Study is available here\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statestreet.com%2Fus%2Fen%2Finsights%2Fdigital-assets-study-2026&esheet=54616997&newsitemid=20261006889095&lan=en-US&anchor=here&index=1&md5=f6f6eaccca500bc1b3a8da1a248cd49d)\n.\n\n(1) The State Street 2026 Digital Assets Study surveyed 300 senior executives\nfrom asset managers, asset owners and wealth managers across North America,\nEurope, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Latin America between July 20, 2026 and\nAugust 19, 2026 to examine institutional adoption, investment priorities and\noperational readiness for digital assets.\n\nAbout State Street Corporation\n\nState Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers\nof financial services to institutional investors including investment\nservicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With\n$57.9 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $6.3\ntrillion* in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, State Street\noperates globally in more than 100 geographic markets and employs\napproximately 51,000 worldwide. For more information, visit State Street's\nwebsite at www.statestreet.com\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.statestreet.com&esheet=54616997&newsitemid=20261006889095&lan=en-US&anchor=www.statestreet.com&index=2&md5=44874fdc065aa38fd1e9aa617f4659fe)\n.\n\n*Assets under management as of June 30, 2026 includes approximately $157\nbillion of assets with respect to SPDR® products for which State Street\nGlobal Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing\nagent. SSGA FD and State Street Investment Management are affiliated.\n\n© 2026 State Street Corporation\n\n9164092.1.1.GBL.RTL\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006889095/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006889095/en/)\n\nMedia Contacts:\n\n\n\nKate Cheung (APAC)\n\nkate.cheung@StateStreet.com (mailto:kate.cheung@StateStreet.com)\n\nLauren Fraser (EMEA)\n\nLFraser1@statestreet.com (mailto:LFraser1@statestreet.com)\n\nBrendan Paul (North America)\n\nBpaul2@statestreet.com (mailto:Bpaul2@statestreet.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-10-06T14:30:00.186918754Z","server_sent_at_ms":1791297000186},"received_at":"2026-10-06T14:30:00.238Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006889095/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"150664","press_release_id":"162170","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Financial Services & Infrastructure","sector":"Financials"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"State Street released its 2026 Digital Assets Study, a survey of 300 institutional executives showing rising adoption: 51% now expect digital assets to become mainstream within five years, up from 42% in 2025 and 11% in 2024.\n\nThe study highlights trust and infrastructure as gating factors, with 69% of respondents citing regulatory experience as the top provider characteristic, followed by cybersecurity at 54% and financial strength at 47%.\n\nAverage digital asset allocations stand at roughly 11% and are expected to reach 17% within three years, and 84% of respondents plan tokenized versions of existing ETFs and long-only funds.\n\nThe findings align with State Street's digital asset servicing strategy in tokenization and digital cash, but the release is thought leadership rather than a financial or contractual disclosure.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"State Street research signals institutional digital-asset adoption is scaling from debate to infrastructure build-out -- supportive of its custody/tokenization franchise long term."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"aum":"$6.3 trillion","aum_aoc":"$57.9 trillion","survey_respondents":300,"mainstream_within_5_years_pct":"51%","avg_digital_asset_allocation_current":"11%","manage_or_distribute_digital_assets_pct":"35%","avg_digital_asset_allocation_expected_3yr":"17%"}},"quotedText":"Today the conversation is much more practical. Investors are spending less time debating the technology and more time focused on infrastructure, operations, regulation and risk. That tells us the market is maturing.","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Angus Fletcher","role":"Head of Digital Asset Solutions, State Street"},{"name":"Donna Milrod","role":"Chief Product Officer, State Street"}],"products":["2026 Digital Assets Study","SPDR"],"companies":[{"name":"State Street Corporation","ticker":"STT","relationship":"filer/author"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$57.9 trillion","context":"assets under custody and/or administration as of June 30, 2026"},{"amount":"$6.3 trillion","context":"assets under management as of June 30, 2026"}]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"Issuer-authored research/PR study with no financial results, guidance, or contractual event. It supports State Street's digital assets strategy narrative but carries no direct near-term earnings impact."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"STT"},"globalImportance":18,"audienceRelevance":30,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"large-cap","eventGravity":"thought-leadership-research","sectorWeight":"digital assets narrative moderately retail-relevant","issuerAuthored":true}},"event_type":"other","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":1,"narrative":"State Street released its 2026 Digital Assets Study, a survey of 300 institutional executives showing rising adoption: 51% now expect digital assets to become mainstream within five years, up from 42% in 2025 and 11% in 2024.\n\nThe study highlights trust and infrastructure as gating factors, with 69% of respondents citing regulatory experience as the top provider characteristic, followed by cybersecurity at 54% and financial strength at 47%.\n\nAverage digital asset allocations stand at roughly 11% and are expected to reach 17% within three years, and 84% of respondents plan tokenized versions of existing ETFs and long-only funds.\n\nThe findings align with State Street's digital asset servicing strategy in tokenization and digital cash, but the release is thought leadership rather than a financial or contractual disclosure.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"aum":"$6.3 trillion","aum_aoc":"$57.9 trillion","survey_respondents":300,"mainstream_within_5_years_pct":"51%","avg_digital_asset_allocation_current":"11%","manage_or_distribute_digital_assets_pct":"35%","avg_digital_asset_allocation_expected_3yr":"17%"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Angus Fletcher","role":"Head of Digital Asset Solutions, State Street"},{"name":"Donna Milrod","role":"Chief Product Officer, State Street"}],"products":["2026 Digital Assets Study","SPDR"],"companies":[{"name":"State Street Corporation","ticker":"STT","relationship":"filer/author"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$57.9 trillion","context":"assets under custody and/or administration as of June 30, 2026"},{"amount":"$6.3 trillion","context":"assets under management as of June 30, 2026"}]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:5c812bd9e28b810d","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-10-06T14:30:06.129Z","global_importance":18,"audience_relevance":30,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"large-cap","eventGravity":"thought-leadership-research","sectorWeight":"digital assets narrative moderately retail-relevant","issuerAuthored":true}},"durationMs":5878,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flashx"}}