Jefferies said it expects a new wave of crypto and blockchain-related public listings as institutional adoption of digital asset infrastructure accelerates on Wall Street and in the payments industry.
In a report released after its first digital assets investor conference in New York, Jefferies said it expects crypto-related public listings to increase over the next two years and estimates the sector could become a $1 trillion public market within five years.
The conference, which brought together executives from 35 digital asset companies alongside around 150 institutional investors, focused less on speculation on Bitcoin prices and more on how blockchain systems are increasingly integrated into traditional finance.
Jefferies said conversations with customers have shown that investors are increasingly convinced that blockchain technology goes beyond experimentation and integrates into core financial infrastructure.
“Customer engagement continues to grow as attention shifts to emerging beneficiaries as banks, exchanges, asset managers, fintechs and payments companies integrate blockchain infrastructure,” the report said.
The cryptocurrency IPO market has slowed this year after a booming 2025 that saw several digital asset companies successfully go public amid rising bitcoin prices and renewed investor appetite for cryptocurrency-related stocks. The recent pullback in listings is largely explained by broader market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty, but another wave of offerings is expected to arrive later this year with several crypto companies, including Securitize and Payward, Kraken’s parent company, finalizing their IPO plans.
Jeffries also highlighted tokenization – the process of representing financial assets on blockchain networks – as one of the main drivers of this change. Executives at the conference said tokenized money market funds, private credit products and blockchain-based settlement systems were already in production following recent regulatory guidance that reduced legal uncertainty around digital assets.
Wall Street’s trend toward embracing blockchain technology and not focusing on cryptocurrency prices has been a recurring theme in recent months. Giant financial institutions, such as JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and other traditional Fintech companies, are working to adopt the technology into their business model, regardless of what happens in the price of Bitcoin.
In fact, tokenization and stablecoins were the top topics at Consensus Miami this year, overshadowing all other crypto-related discussions. “We are entering a world where the entire economy will be tokenized,” said Joseph Lubin, CEO and founder of Consensys in Miami.
Jefferies argued that greater regulatory clarity could accelerate adoption even further, particularly among heavily regulated financial institutions. The bank highlighted the proposed CLARITY Act, which would establish a broader market structure framework for digital assets in the United States, saying the legislation could become “the missing piece” that generates more institutional investment and pushes blockchain-based finance further into the mainstream.
“Technological disruption”
The report also highlighted how traditional financial companies are increasingly partnering with crypto-native infrastructure providers rather than competing directly with them.
Conference panelists described a growing ecosystem in which banks, trading platforms and payment companies are using blockchain networks to reduce settlement times, improve capital efficiency and launch new financial products.
Earlier this year, tokenization company Securitize partnered with transfer agent Computershare to help public companies issue tokenized shares directly into existing shareholder registration systems, while crypto exchange Bullish (BLSH), owner of CoinDesk, agreed to acquire transfer agent Equiniti for $4.2 billion to strengthen its blockchain-based settlement infrastructure.
Stablecoins and tokenized payments have been repeatedly cited as key areas of near-term growth, especially as payment companies look for ways to reduce the cost of cross-border transfers and operate around the clock.
The conference featured executives from companies including Ripple, Kraken, Galaxy (GLXY), Bullish (BLSH), and Consensys.
While institutional adoption was the biggest catalyst when BlackRock first launched Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the appearance of adoption was one of the most discussed topics at the time. Today, it appears that these sophisticated investors view the sector as a disruptive technology that could improve their long-term business model, rather than as short-term speculative trading.
Jefferies said the discussions reflected a broader shift in investor focus from meme coins and speculative trading activities to blockchain systems generating revenue from trading, payments, lending and tokenized financial products.
“Investors often overestimate the magnitude of technology disruption in the short term and underestimate it in the long term,” the report said.
