SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 24th, 2026, FinanceWire
Uphold, the infrastructure provider for on-chain finance, today releases research which reveals that 75% of American banks have blockchain finance programmes underway: 22% have projects that are live or scaling, while an additional 53% are piloting or assessing specific use cases.
- Three quarters of U.S. banks confirm digital asset programmes – 22% with projects live or scaling; more than half piloting or actively evaluating
- The buying phase for digital asset infrastructure has started – two-thirds of banks have allocated funds; more than half have issued RFPs for digital asset vendors and partners
- Key use cases are digital asset wallets, custody and buy/ sell/ hold for wealth management
- Main barriers to adoption are cybersecurity, risk management concerns, and regulatory uncertainty/ compliance
The study leaves no doubt that the majority of American banks – both large and regional – have kicked off processes for buying digital asset services: 54% have issued RFPs for digital asset vendors and partners, while two-thirds have allocated funds for infrastructure.
Among other markers of banks embarking on blockchain-focused transformation, the survey found that 72% of institutions have appointed an executive accountable for digital asset/blockchain strategy, while 68% confirmed possessing the necessary in-house regulatory and compliance capabilities.
“Blockchain powers cheaper, faster and better financial services. The kind the next generation of bank customers expect as digital natives who’ve grown up with instant, borderless, always-on messaging services,” said Simon McLoughlin, Uphold’s CEO.
“Our survey shows that promise is already moving from theory to practice, as financial institutions commit capital and talent to blockchain-based infrastructure. The failure of the Clarity Act has delayed a comprehensive legal framework for the US market, but it has not stopped progress. It’s been gratifying to see the SEC and CFTC move swiftly to fill the regulatory gap, smooth the path for blockchain adoption and give firms a clear way forward. Regulation is no substitute for durable legislation, but the direction seems clear and irreversible: finance is moving on chain.”
Uphold commissioned American Banker to poll U.S. banks of all sizes on their progress in integrating blockchain-powered services, priority use cases, and expected benefits. The survey spanned multinationals, regional banks, and credit unions. More than half of respondents (53%) report more than $50 billion of assets under management.
When asked which blockchain services were most important, respondents said:
- Digital wallets and/ or custody solutions (72%)
- Digital assets buy/ sell/ hold for wealth management (70%)
- Digital wallet-led international expansion (65%)
- Stablecoin rails for institutional settlement (64%)
- Prime brokerage and institutional-grade clearing (64%)
Two in three respondents (66%) see a shared upside in blockchain-powered services, believing that both banks and their customers will benefit. And banks are building for all customer segments: of those institutions with initiatives live, in pilot or evaluation, two-thirds (65%) are designing services for commercial customers, with 52% building for retail customers and 47% for wealth management.
Amid this momentum however, the industry recognises a number of challenges in advancing their digital asset and blockchain strategies. The top three barriers to progress were cybersecurity concerns (cited by 47%), risk management and operational risk concerns (47%) and regulatory uncertainty and compliance requirements (46%).
McLoughlin continued: “The world’s biggest economy and largest capital market is now at the forefront of blockchain-powered transformation. Thankfully, our report shows strong momentum among banks across a wide range of areas, and particularly in digital wallets, wealth management, custody and stablecoins. Irrespective of recent news from Washington, the financial industry will continue innovating, customer demands will keep evolving, and the legal framework will take shape via diverse regulatory forces – some international, some domestic. The coming blockchain economy will unlock significant pools of capital and has the potential to accelerate global growth.”
Research Methodology
American Banker conducted this research online from July 27 to August 14, 2026, among 114 qualified respondents. Qualified respondents work at a bank, credit union, or neobank, and are a primary decision maker, significant influencer, or directly involved in their institution’s digital asset and blockchain strategy. Respondents span community, regional, super-regional, and national/global banks, as well as credit unions.
This was a blind data collection effort. Uphold was not identified as the sponsor of this research.
About Uphold
Uphold, is a financial technology company that believes on-chain services are the future of finance. It provides modern infrastructure for on-chain payments, banking and investments. Offering Consumer Services, Business Services and Institutional Trading, Uphold makes financial services easy and trustworthy for millions of customers in more than 140 countries.
Uphold integrates with more than 30 trading venues, including centralized and decentralized exchanges, to deliver superior liquidity, resilience and optimal execution. Uphold never loans out customer assets, except at customer request, and is always 100% reserved.
The company pioneered radical transparency and uniquely publishes its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds on a public website (https://uphold.com/en-us/transparency).
Uphold is regulated in the U.S. by FinCen and State regulators; and is registered in the UK with the FCA and in Europe with the Bank of Portugal. Securities products and services are offered by Uphold Securities, Inc., a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA and SIPC.
To learn more about Uphold’s products and services, visit uphold.com.