BeInCrypto released the shortlists for its 2026 Institutional 100 awards this week. Fifteen firms each are longlisted for the Best Digital Assets Fintech and Best Custody Provider categories. Winners will be announced June 2-3 at the Proof of Talk conference in Paris.
Shortlist Focus Areas
The Best Digital Assets Fintech award falls under Pillar 1: Retail to Crypto Bridge. It evaluates crypto-fiat bridging capabilities. The Best Custody Provider category sits in Pillar 2: Capital Markets & Infrastructure. Both have 15 firms in the running. The annual program covers 26 categories across six pillars total.
Custodian Contenders Revealed
Circle appears in the custody shortlist with its OCC conditional charter approval and USDC's $73 billion market cap. Coinbase Custody serves as primary custodian for IBIT and co-custodian for Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust. BitGo made the list after becoming the first public federally chartered digital asset infrastructure firm following its January NYSE IPO.
Regulator-Verified Evaluation
BeInCrypto says its Institutional 100 research uses verified data from financial authorities. The process draws from NYDFS, FinCEN, FCA, MiCA-CASP, and other regulators. That data forms the basis for judging all 26 award categories. No self-reported claims factor into the final selection.
Paris Announcement Deadline
The winners for all categories will be unveiled during Proof of Talk. The conference runs June 2-3 at its Paris venue. Shortlisted firms are preparing for the announcement next month. This follows the May publication timeline for all shortlists this year.
