Editor’s note: This article was updated to address errors in background information.
The U.S. could trigger the next global surge in cryptocurrency adoption as regulators move toward clearer rules for banks and financial institutions, according to Alessio Quaglini, CEO & Co-founder, of Hong Kong-based digital asset institution Hex Trust.
"Give it a few months, every single bank in the U.S. will provide custody services for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC)," Alessio said in an interview with Benzinga.
"That's when we'll have real adoption—when banks start offering Bitcoin deposits, trading, and even structured products."
His comments come as Washington signals greater openness to crypto integration. Alessio said banks globally have run pilots with digital assets but avoided going live because U.S. regulators hadn't accepted it. "The perception of Bitcoin is already there," he said. "The bottleneck has always been regulation."
Stablecoins may prove just as transformative, Alessio added, predicting they will replace the SWIFT system for cross-border transfers. "Stablecoins are programmable money," he said. "They're faster, cheaper, and will disrupt remittances. Western Union and similar players should be worried."
Hex Trust, founded in 2018, provides custody, staking, trading, and lending services for institutions. It operates under licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Italy.
The push comes as publicly traded peers like Coinbase Global Inc. and Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. are under pressure to diversify revenue streams amid volatile trading volumes.
Coinbase, with a market cap near $50 billion, generated most of its revenue from retail trading fees, while Galaxy reported net income of $422 million in the second quarter, fueled largely by proprietary trading.
Alessio said Hex Trust's strategy is deliberately focused on custody and institutional services to avoid volatility.
Today, he views the market as increasingly institutional, citing the shift of large Bitcoin holdings from early investors to asset managers and banks. "These are long-term players, like central banks with gold. They accumulate strategically," he said.
"The rules of the U.S. are global rules," Alessio said. "Once American banks move, the rest of the world will follow. That's when Bitcoin truly becomes mainstream."
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