The BeInCrypto Institutional 100 Awards 2026 reached their final stage this week, with 16 firms shortlisted across four categories under the Access to Digital Assets pillar. Winners were announced on June 2 at Proof of Talk in Paris, held at the Louvre Palace. The awards arrive as institutional crypto infrastructure solidifies, with several of the field’s biggest players posting eye-catching numbers in recent months.
The ETF heavyweights
BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF pushed past roughly $67 billion in assets under management by early May 2026, cementing its place as the institutional benchmark. Bitwise’s BSOL became the largest US spot Solana ETF after its NYSE launch last October, capturing more than 80% of category inflows. Both products are part of a wave of spot crypto ETFs that have redefined how traditional money gets into digital assets.
Venture capital keeps flowing
A16z Crypto closed Crypto Fund V at $2.2 billion in May 2026, keeping it among the biggest crypto-dedicated venture managers. Paradigm raised a $1.5 billion fund in February, broadening its focus to include AI and frontier technologies alongside crypto. The two firms remain the dominant institutional allocators in the space, backing everything from layer-1 blockchains to DeFi protocols.
TradFi giants test tokenization
HSBC Orion has enabled more than $3.5 billion in digitally native bonds globally and secured an HKMA stablecoin issuer license for a planned HKD stablecoin due in the second half of 2026. Franklin Templeton’s BENJI tokenized money market fund topped $1.98 billion in AUM by April, live across more than eight blockchains. Fidelity combined its spot crypto ETFs (FBTC and FETH) with in-house custody through Fidelity Digital Assets, NA., blurring the line between broker and custodian.
Infrastructure consolidation
Talos acquired Coin Metrics in July 2025 for more than $100 million, merging on-chain, market, and index data with its institutional trading suite. The deal shows that even as the market matures, firms are still spending big to stitch together data and execution. The Institutional 100 shortlist reflects that broader trend — a move from hype to plumbing.
