coindesk.com
Digital assets are set to cross a critical threshold in 2026, shifting from largely speculative instruments into practical financial infrastructure as regulation matures and traditional institutions deploy blockchain technology at scale, investment bank B. Riley said in a Thursday report.
"In 2026, we expect the digital asset market to transition from speculation to practical utility as regulatory frameworks are expected to mature, and blockchain integrates into global financial infrastructure," analysts Fedor Shabalin and Nick Giles wrote.
The analysts argued that clearer rules around stablecoins, growing institutional tokenization of real-world assets, stronger governance frameworks and improving interoperability between bank ledgers and public blockchains are combining to change how digital assets are used, not just how they're traded.
This evolution is prompting digital asset treasury companies (DATCOs) to pivot away from simply accumulating tokens toward operational deployment that can generate recurring revenue, the analysts said.
The group of 25 digital asset treasury stocks that the bank tracks continue to have an enterprise value of about 0.8 times the market value of their crypto holdings. The metric, known as mNAV, is unchanged since mid-December, even as the underlying business models begin to look more like operating companies than passive investment vehicles. Enterprise value (EV) is a firm's market capitalization plus debt minus any cash.
The analysts also flagged a recent decision by MSCI to reverse a proposal that would have excluded DATCOs from major global equity indexes.
Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin BTC$89,825.32, has come under selling pressure in recent months on concerns it could be dropped from MSCI’s benchmarks, a move that may have forced some institutional investors to sell and weighed further on the stock.
MSCI said more work is needed to distinguish between investment companies and operating businesses that hold digital assets as part of their core strategy. B. Riley said the pause is supportive for the sector because index inclusion helps sustain passive fund flows and reduces the risk of forced selling.
The report highlighted BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) as a key example of the operational shift it expects to accelerate next year. The treasury company continues to build its ether ETH$3,092.49 position while expanding staking operations ahead of a planned infrastructure launch in early 2026.
The analysts reiterated their buy rating on BitMine and a $47 price target, saying the stock’s valuation looks attractive relative to its staking-driven revenue potential, even as shareholders prepare to vote on a sizable increase in authorized shares to support future growth and acquisitions.
The shares were 1.75% lower in early trading, at $29.83.
Read more: Tokenization 'supercycle' set to drive crypto’s next leg higher in 2026: Bernstein