Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs stated that the improving regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies and new use cases beyond trading are making the outlook for the sector increasingly positive.
According to the bank, this process creates strong opportunities, especially for infrastructure companies that are relatively less affected by market cycles and that support the ecosystem.
The report published today states that regulatory uncertainty has been one of the biggest obstacles to institutional participation to date, but that this is rapidly changing. The team, led by analyst James Yaro, commented, “We believe a clearer regulatory framework will be a key driver of institutional adoption of crypto assets for both buy-side and sell-side financial institutions. Furthermore, new applications of crypto assets beyond buying and selling are also developing.”
According to the report, the market structure regulations currently under consideration in the US could be a critical catalyst. Following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) underwent a complete leadership overhaul. With the appointment of Paul Atkins as chairman, the institution reversed its years-long aggressive enforcement approach towards the crypto sector; numerous pending investigations and lawsuits were dropped. The Trump administration highlighted the development of the US crypto industry as a key policy objective, and Atkins has made this a priority for the SEC.
The draft bill under consideration in Congress aims to clarify the framework for tokenized assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, and to define the division of authority between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to Goldman Sachs, these steps are critical to unlocking institutional capital.
The bank points out that regulation enacted in the first half of 2026 is particularly important, as the US midterm elections later that year could slow the process. According to Goldman Sachs’ survey data, 35% of institutions see regulatory uncertainty as the biggest obstacle to crypto adoption, while 32% consider regulatory clarity the most important catalyst.
*This is not investment advice.