Mergers between crypto firms and TradFi players to rise in 2026

Crypto and TradFi may continue to converge in the coming months, driven by large financial institutions. On-chain and financial infrastructure will overlap even more in 2026, based on the latest analysis by Eliptic. 

This year may be even more pivotal for the global financial system and the available on-chain rails. Dr. James Smith expects to see more convergence between digital assets and traditional finance in the latest report for Eliptic.

The convergence comes from both sides, as crypto exchanges are offering TradFi trading access. In the past months, financial giants like JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Stripe, and others continued to seek on-chain rails and partnerships.

Digital assets are no longer disconnected from finance

Digital assets are no longer a parallel system of unofficial payments and are integrated into the global payment infrastructure. Stablecoins and crypto-based cards are already a common tool for payments. 

On the other side, tokenized assets, institutional interest, AI integration, and common compliance networks are bringing crypto exchanges as key hubs for access to traditional finance. Crypto platforms have also shown extreme flexibility in creating new types of assets, reflecting the recent trend of renewed interest in equities and precious metals. Wallets have also expanded to include features typical of fintech apps. 

Eliptic expects mergers to continue in 2026, spanning the divide between crypto companies and traditional businesses.  In all of 2025, merger and acquisition appetite came from non-crypto firms, as more platforms were accepted favorably and regulated. The US Genius Act repositioned crypto assets as viable, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission signaled an end to its lawsuit policy. 

Both TradFi and crypto platforms are seeking to streamline their AML services, as both sectors now have similar compliance requirements. 

AI boosts both crypto and TradFi

The emergence of AI and its increasing abilities in AML and compliance is a key development for both TradFi and crypto. 

Automating processes may replace manual, resource-intensive AML and KYC processing. The easier KYC onboarding through AI may mean a faster adoption of cryptoassets as part of the regular portfolio of financial companies. 

Oversight is also becoming a common matter, while researchers are discovering more tracking tools. Exploits and incidents led to more experience with money laundering across centralized exchanges, DeFi platforms, and DEX. 

The evolution of on-chain analytics is also expanding, bringing complex data for analysis. Government agencies are already integrating more sophisticated blockchain analytics into the general financial fraud framework. Just like traditional finance, crypto can be tracked for sanction evasion, money laundering, and general scam risk. 

Eliptic also believes financial forensics will continue to be automated and track even more complex information from threat actors.

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