Crypto sector “maturing” amid regulatory shift, insto adoption

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

3 February 2026

The promise of new regulatory guidelines and legislative guardrails for investors has fuelled a mindset shift when it comes to Australia’s cryptocurrency industry, as 2026 looks to be the asset class’ most formative year.

As both consumer adoption of and institutional appetite for cryptocurrency continues to reach new highs, 2025 has paved the way for the digital asset to finally shed its roots as a “speculative side bet” and become an “established component of a diversified portfolio”, according to Crypto.com’s Australian lead, Vakul Talwar.

“The industry is entering the year off the back of major growth, with the market cap for crypto ETFs almost doubling from last year, reaching $434 million in 2025, up from $236 million in 2024. Globally, US crypto asset ETFs also rose to a market cap of $1.28 billion in 2025, up from $685 million in 2024,” he said.

“These numbers will increase significantly with Australia’s first crypto legislation likely to pass through Federal Parliament by mid-2026, and as institutional investors and financial advisers look to allocate money to crypto.

“Stablecoins and the tokenisation of real-world assets are two key themes that are set to define sector growth this year. Stablecoins in particular, have emerged as one of the strongest real‑world applications of digital assets, underpinning payments, settlements and treasury operations across a wide range of financial and fintech institutions.

“Meanwhile, tokenised real-world assets are rapidly gaining traction as institutions globally begin leveraging tokenised treasuries, stocks, funds and commodities to improve access to investments, transparency, operational efficiency and settlement times.

“Whether it be money market funds or private market assets, we will continue to see more fund managers offering tokenised products to match growing investor demand.”

Stablecoins have also continued to solidify their position among mainstream financial market infrastructure, as “real-world” use cases multiply and drive increased multi-channel adoption.

“AUDD was the first Australian stablecoin to launch and has facilitated more than $1.5 billion in cumulative payments volume to date. This is not a theoretical future state for us, it is an operational reality we are already managing,” AUDD chief executive, Effie Dimitropoulos, said.

“As the sector matures, all issuers, including those in the Australian market, will need to give careful consideration to reserve management frameworks and we expect many will look to government bonds to preserve capital while maintaining liquidity and regulatory alignment.

“We expect the payments space to be a key area where this growth occurs. Banks and institutions are quickly realising their benefit in reducing settlement times from days to near simultaneous, highlighting limitations in traditional settlement rails, particularly when it comes to cross-border transactions.”

Crypto has also assimilated into the everyday as more consumers turn to digital assets to make transactions, particularly through card-linked crypto payment services which allow individuals to convert their cryptocurrency into Australian dollars so they can purchase everyday goods and services.

“This shift is part of a broader transition toward programmable and digital forms of money,” Mandy Jiang, Executive Director and CDO at CloudTech Group, said.

“As tokenised deposits and blockchain based settlement systems continue to develop under the new regulatory framework, crypto enabled payments will become increasingly embedded in Australia’s retail financial ecosystem.

“The coming year will be pivotal for Australia’s digital asset sector. Long awaited regulation is arriving, providing clarity and confidence for both industry and investors. Tokenisation is turning traditional assets into more accessible financial products and crypto payments are becoming a normal part of how people transact in everyday life.

“Together, these trends signal a shift in 2026 from experimentation to implementation in the journey of crypto moving from a standalone sector to a key part of Australia’s financial services ecosystem.”