Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) don't need another headline catalyst, Coinbase's head of institutional strategy John D'Agostino said Wednesday, arguing the next wave of adoption is already underway.
Coinbase Sees Crypto Adoption Advancing Through Institutional Integration
D'Agostino told Milk Road at Chainlink's Link NYC event that framing adoption around a single catalyst misses what's actually happening.
"We don't need a catalyst," he said. "It's happening. Micro catalysts are happening every single day."
He pointed to ICE's investment in TradeXYZ and Kraken's ongoing work with NYSE as examples of legacy infrastructure gradually giving way to blockchain-based systems.
Bitwise President Teddy Fisaro agreed that progress happens slowly and below the surface, comparing crypto's financial infrastructure buildout to replacing systems that have anchored U.S. capital markets for 75 years.
He said the industry is shifting from access, which spot Bitcoin ETFs delivered in 2024, toward utilization, where tokenized assets and on-chain infrastructure just work without users thinking about the blockchain behind them.
Hedge Funds Explore Crypto as Investor Interest Broadens
D'Agostino said roughly 60% of hedge funds surveyed through the Alternative Investment Management Association are actively exploring crypto exposure, though interest alone doesn't mean capital follows right away.
Hedge funds operate under strict investment mandates, so funds have to formally amend their offering documents and get investor approval before putting real money into a new asset class, a process he said is now underway across the industry.
Fisaro said Bitwise's advisor surveys, published annually since 2018, showed conversations as recently as 2025 were still almost entirely about Bitcoin.
In the past year, conversations have expanded toward other assets and their underlying investment theses, a shift he called early but accelerating.
Why Chainlink and SharpLink See Tokenization Scaling Fast
Chainlink's (CRYPTO: LINK) Andrew McCormack said tokenized real-world assets have grown to roughly $40 billion, up sharply from just a few years ago, as DTCC's new tokenization service and Chainlink's own 24/7 price feed product both went live this week to support continuous, around-the-clock pricing.
Meanwhile, SharpLink (NASDAQ: SBET) CEO Joseph Chalom pointed to Ethereum's dominance in the space:
- Tokenized assets: roughly 52% sit on Ethereum
- Global stablecoin supply: more than half is issued on the network
- SharpLink's own holdings: over 99% of its Ethereum is staked
Chalom credited Ethereum's security track record and deep liquidity for that dominance, and said SharpLink uses its permanent capital structure to deploy funds on a multi-year basis most individual investors can't match.
He also sees AI agents saving consumers up to $1.4 trillion by 2035 by automating financial decisions currently handled by advisors, calling that shift, alongside stablecoins, tokenized assets and on-chain execution, one of four converging trends he considers genuinely transformational for finance.
