Eleanor Terret Exposes the Real Forces Behind Institutional Crypto Adoption in 2026

Forget the hype—institutional money is finally moving, and it's not for the reasons you think.

The Regulatory Green Light

Clear frameworks are emerging from major jurisdictions. Regulators aren't just tolerating crypto anymore—they're building the guardrails. This isn't about wild speculation; it's about creating investable asset classes that pass compliance checks. The old guard of finance loves nothing more than a well-defined box to check.

Infrastructure That Doesn't Break

The back-office nightmare is fading. Custody solutions now rival those for traditional securities. Settlement times have collapsed from days to seconds. Trading desks can execute billion-dollar orders without crashing the market. The plumbing works, so the big money can finally flow through the pipes.

The Yield Chase in a Low-Rate World

Traditional portfolios are starving for returns. Staking, decentralized finance protocols, and tokenized real-world assets offer yield that makes bond coupons look pathetic. Pension funds need to hit their numbers, and crypto's native yield mechanisms are becoming impossible to ignore—even for the most cynical portfolio manager chasing that annual bonus.

Portfolio Diversification Beyond Correlation

Bitcoin's decoupling from traditional risk assets is complete. It's now viewed as a distinct macro hedge—digital gold with a 24/7 trading cycle. Allocations are shifting from 'experimental' to 'strategic.' No chief investment officer wants to be the one who missed the next uncorrelated return stream while their peers profited.

The Talent Migration

Top quants, traders, and legal minds are flooding into the space. The brain drain from bulge bracket banks to crypto-native firms and dedicated desk is staggering. You can't build a strategy without the people who understand it, and the talent pool now has deep institutional experience.

In the end, adoption isn't driven by belief in decentralization—it's driven by cold, hard financial calculus and risk-adjusted returns. The institutions aren't here for the revolution; they're here for the arbitrage. And honestly, watching them try to explain 'degen' culture in a quarterly earnings call might be the most entertaining finance theater we get all year.

Morgan Stanley just filed with the SEC to launch ETFs tracking Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum. The news comes as industry insiders say 2026 will be the year institutions stop testing the waters and dive in.

Eleanor Terret, host of the Crypto in America podcast, joined ABC News to break down what’s ahead for crypto markets. Her take is that Wall Street’s relationship with digital assets is about to change completely.

Institutions Are Done Waiting

Terret put it simply: “If they had one foot in the space in 2025, they’re expected to have two this year in 2026.”

Big banks, trading firms, asset managers, pension funds, and endowments are all moving in.

Morgan Stanley’s filing surprised many. The bank stayed cautious on crypto for years. Now it’s chasing exposure to Bitcoin, Solana, and ethereum through ETFs. When a legacy institution like this starts moving, others follow.

Regulatory rollback under the TRUMP administration gave institutions the green light. The legal uncertainty that kept compliance teams nervous is fading fast.

The Clarity Act Is the Real Story

The bigger development is happening in Congress.

The Clarity Act aims to give crypto a formal regulatory framework. For institutions, that’s the missing piece. They don’t deploy capital without legal certainty.

Terret stressed the significance: “There’s real regulatory clarity… it’s codified into law by Congress.”

That’s what unlocks the next wave of institutional money.

Midterms Could Stall Everything

Here’s the risk that’s flying under the radar.

Republicans control the WHITE House, Senate, and House right now. But prediction markets show Democrats with a real shot at retaking the House.

If that happens, crypto legislation could stall.

Terret was direct that “The midterms are a big if.”

The Trump family’s push for a national bank charter and their own stablecoin adds another layer. Those plans depend entirely on political outcomes.

Bitcoin Price Outlook for 2026

Bitcoin is now trading around $90,627 after hitting a high of $126,198 in October 2025.

Analyst forecasts for 2026 range widely. Some see $75,000. Others call for $250,000. Institutional liquidity will drive price action, but short-term volatility isn’t going anywhere.