Institutional digital asset adoption
Institutional adoption is best evaluated at the capability level. A bank can operate a digital custody service while testing tokenization and researching new payment infrastructure. Each activity needs its own evidence, client scope and observation date.
Read maturity alongside the evidence
The 51 Adoption Index uses five stages for each capability:
| Stage | What the public method requires |
|---|---|
| None verified | No qualifying public evidence supports activity in that capability. |
| Exploring | Research or announced intent without an active client service. |
| Pilot | An operating proof of concept, sandbox or limited pilot with a defined scope. |
| Live | An active product or service available to a defined client or market segment. |
| Scaled | A live capability with material production use or operation across multiple markets or client segments. |
The Index weights eight capabilities equally and ranks institutions within peer groups. It prioritizes dated, attributable evidence and does not infer private activity. “None verified” describes an evidence gap. Read the full scoring method.
Use the date and scope of each announcement
Swift’s 29 September 2025 announcement described plans to develop a shared ledger and work on a conceptual prototype. That announcement establishes intent and project scope at that date. It cannot by itself establish a later production launch. Read the original announcement.
A useful research record retains the source, publication date, named institution, exact capability and stage supported by that source. Subsequent announcements can update the record when they supply stronger evidence.
Continue the research
- DTCC traded tokenized stocks in production — 51 Insights analysis; read the article’s dated evidence and qualifications.
- Money Movement 2.0: 2026 Edition [Report] — institutional payment infrastructure and implementation themes.
- Tony McLaughlin on stablecoin issuance — a 51 Podcast conversation with the founder of Ubyx.