Why Institutions Could Make This Year Pivotal for Crypto

By James Wo, CEOand Founder of DFG

The crypto industry is no stranger to adversity, having weathered its fair share of challenges during its developing history. As of March 2024, its market cap has recovered to $2.4 trillion, a massive comeback following a downfall from its $3 trillion peak in 2021. With the market still fluctuating, however, there’s optimism that growing institutional involvement could be the driving force behind a bullish period ahead.

Despite recognizing crypto’s inherent volatility and technical challenges, institutions have invested resources in experimenting with and researching blockchain and crypto. Their overall sentiment toward the technology is mainly positive, and they express interest in offering crypto services, including DeFi and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.

But not everyone seems so optimistic—some of their concerns are not unfounded. By examining and analyzing the fundamental elements behind institutional involvement in crypto this year, we can see what has the potential to either elevate or jeopardize crypto’s standing. 

Institutional entry challenges

To begin, let’s set the stage as to why institutions are looking at crypto in the first place. In response to global macroeconomic…