Citigroup, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs lead TradFi's blockchain charge: Ripple
Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Japan’s SBI Group have emerged as the most active players in traditional finance backing blockchain startups, according to a new report by Ripple in partnership with CB Insights and the UK Centre for Blockchain Technologies.
Between 2020 and 2024, global banks participated in 345 investments in blockchain companies, most of them in early-stage funding rounds, per the report . Citigroup and Goldman Sachs led the pack with 18 deals each, while JP Morgan and Mitsubishi UFJ followed closely with 15 investments.
Mega-rounds, deals worth $100 million or more, were a key focus. Banks contributed to 33 such rounds during the four-year window, pouring capital into firms focused on trading infrastructure, tokenization, custody, and payment solutions.
Notable examples include CloudWalk in Brazil, which raised over $750 million across two rounds backed by Banco Itaú and others. Likewise, Solaris in Germany secured over $100 million from SBI Group and later became a majority acquisition target.
G-SIBs back blockchain with 100+ deals
Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), a group of financial institutions with such significant economic weight that their failure could trigger global financial instability, accounted for 106 deals, including 14 mega-rounds valued at over $100 million each.
G-SIBs investments in blockchain companies. Source: Ripple
US and Japanese institutions led in deal volume, but Singapore, France, and the UK were also active. In total, over $100 billion was poured into blockchain startups between 2020 and 2024 across more than 10,000 deals globally.
Ripple’s survey of over 1,800 global finance leaders also found that 90% believe blockchain and digital assets will have a “significant or massive” impact on the industry within three years.
The momentum is also supported by regulatory developments, including the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins , or GENIUS Act, in the US and Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) in the EU, both of which provide a clearer framework for digital asset operations.
Banks back stablecoins, tokenization next
Backing the investment trend is soaring demand for real-world blockchain applications. According to a Citi report, stablecoin volumes hit $650–$700 billion per month in Q1 2025, and more banks are launching their own stablecoins to offer programmable money without exposure to volatility.
Looking ahead, tokenization is expected to be a defining trend. Boston Consulting Group and Ripple estimate that tokenized real-world assets could exceed $18 trillion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 53%.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
How much CPO demand will Nvidia Rubin Ultra generate? Bernstein: Optical value per Pod will increase fivefold
Bernstein believes that the co-packaged optics (CPO) and fiber demand driven by Nvidia's Rubin Ultra architecture will surge significantly, with the optical content per Pod rising from $1 million to $5.4 million. This will propel the size of Nvidia's optical ecosystem market to $46.8 billion by 2028 (a 91% annual increase). Although the industry faces supply bottlenecks with InP substrates, the outlook remains positive. The institution reiterates its “outperform” rating for Lumentum, Coherent, and Ciena.
UBS Q3 implements a two-way strategy with gold options, heavily invests in technology stocks, and builds positions in SK Hynix (SKHY.US)
UBS Group (UBS.US) has submitted its Q3 holdings report (13F) as of September 30, 2026.
SpaceX (SPCX.US) reportedly attempts “de-Nvidiaization” at the rack level: developing Kessel cabinets to bypass L6 compute boards, purchasing only chips
SemiAnalysis: SpaceX has developed its own Kessel cabinet, bypassing Nvidia's L6 cards to provide more options for manufacturing its own hardware.
$3.7 billion “data center power equipment prepayments” abandoned! What did "the most active buyer of gas turbines", SoftBank, see?
In the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, SoftBank reported a net loss of $7.1 billion, primarily due to a $3.7 billion impairment charge from a $9.5 billion advance payment for power generation equipment for US data centers—of which about $2.9 billion was non-refundable and effectively lost. The CFO admitted that SoftBank placed orders before the project plan was finalized, and is now conducting a comprehensive review of its procurement strategy. "The most aggressive purchaser of gas turbines has now written off the deposit in this way."
Crypto prices
More
