35% of institutions are stuck due to regulations; Goldman Sachs says this hurdle can be overcome by 2026

Goldman Sachs’ latest report indicates that improvements in the regulatory environment are becoming a key driving force behind institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies. The Wall Street giant states that while regulatory uncertainty remains the biggest obstacle for institutional participation, this situation is changing rapidly. Especially under the new policy direction of the Trump administration, the regulatory framework for the US crypto industry is being reshaped.

Regulatory Bottlenecks Are Being Broken

According to Goldman Sachs’ survey data, there is a clear divergence in institutional attitudes: 35% of institutions still see regulatory uncertainty as the biggest barrier to adopting crypto assets, but the other side of this figure is even more noteworthy—32% of institutions have already listed regulatory clarity as the most important catalyst. This means that as long as the regulatory framework is established, a large amount of capital is waiting to enter.

Specific signals of regulatory improvement

The attitude shift of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the most direct indicator. Since Trump took office, the SEC leadership has undergone a complete overhaul. After new Chair Paul Atkins took office, the agency has noticeably retreated from years of aggressive enforcement—reversing almost all pending cases and withdrawing from multiple court litigations. This 180-degree shift itself is a signal.

More critically, upcoming legislation on the US market structure is expected. This law will clarify the regulatory framework for tokenized assets and decentralized finance projects, while also defining the responsibilities of the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Goldman Sachs emphasizes that these steps are crucial for unlocking institutional capital.

Timing is very critical

Goldman Sachs specifically points out that passing legislation in the first half of 2026 is particularly important. The practical reason is that the US midterm elections later that year could delay progress. In other words, this time window is limited, and missing it means waiting another two years.

Practical Pathways for Institutional Adoption

From recent actions, major institutions have already begun to act. Goldman Sachs upgraded Coinbase’s rating from “Neutral” to “Buy” this Monday, with the target price raised from $294 to $303. This is not just a stock rating adjustment; the underlying logic is even more important: Goldman Sachs believes Coinbase has successfully transformed into a structurally growing company, with subscription and service revenues now accounting for nearly 40%.

What does this mean? Coinbase is shifting from a simple exchange to a financial infrastructure provider. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs downgraded eToro to “Neutral” and pointed out that the integration of traditional brokerage and crypto brokerage businesses will intensify competition by 2026.

Infrastructure projects are the most focused

Goldman Sachs’ report specifically mentions that infrastructure companies supporting ecosystems but less affected by market cycles will be the main beneficiaries. This includes infrastructure in areas like transaction settlement and asset tokenization. These projects are characterized by real usage demand rather than speculative hype.

Key Drivers for Institutional Participation

Summary

Essentially, Goldman Sachs’ report states: institutional adoption in the crypto industry is not a question of “if,” but “when.” Improvements in the regulatory environment are turning this timing point from “uncertain” into “2026.”

There are three key points to watch: first, the 35% obstacle for institutions may be cleared by the first half of 2026, representing a clear time window; second, the upgrades of exchanges like Coinbase and the focus on infrastructure projects indicate that pathways for institutional participation are already forming; third, the regulatory framework for tokenized assets and DeFi is about to be introduced, which will open up real application scenarios.

For the market, this is not speculation but a clear judgment made by Wall Street giants based on policy changes. The legislative progress in the first half of 2026 will be a critical milestone in determining the speed of institutional crypto adoption.