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On August 3rd, Ripple announced the release of a joint report revealing that investments by traditional financial institutions in blockchain companies have accelerated in recent years.
The report, compiled in collaboration with CB Insights and the UK’s Centre for Blockchain Technologies, found that between 2020 and 2024, traditional financial institutions made a total of 345 investments in blockchain companies.
Of these, 33 were “mega-rounds” exceeding $100 million, mainly led by globally systemically important banks. These banks accounted for 106 transactions in total, including 14 mega-rounds.
Why Major Financial Institutions Are Leading the Way
The push by traditional financial institutions to adopt blockchain technology is largely driven by demands for market modernization. Key goals include improving operational efficiency, shortening settlement times, and securing new sources of revenue.
Tokenization of assets and digital asset custody solutions have emerged as strategic priorities—largely seen as a countermeasure to innovations in decentralized finance (DeFi).
Supporting this trend, a separate survey conducted by Ripple found that 90% of financial industry leaders believe that blockchain will significantly impact their businesses in the near future.
This reflects a growing industry-wide recognition of the transformative potential of the technology.
Regulation and Strategy Shape the Road Ahead
Current investment trends are heavily influenced by national regulatory frameworks.
While JPMorgan Chase is exploring crypto-backed loans and cross-border payment solutions, UK-based Barclays has taken steps to limit its involvement in cryptocurrencies.
In addition to these regulatory stances, there is a growing trend of strategic, large-scale investments aimed at securing competitive positions.
For example, Brazil’s Itaú Unibanco supported a $750 million funding round for the payments startup CloudWalk. The SBI Group’s involvement in, and eventual acquisition of, Germany’s Solaris is another such case.
Regionally, RAKBANK of the United Arab Emirates became the first traditional bank in the Middle East to offer cryptocurrency trading services to individual customers, signaling a blurring line between traditional finance and DeFi.
The report concludes that to fully harness the benefits of blockchain technology, standardized protocols, enhanced security frameworks, and international regulatory cooperation are essential.
