Crypto is moving away from the phase defined by hype, sharp price swings, and retail-led momentum trades. In a CNBC interview on February 10, 2026, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said users now want practical applications and products that can deliver steadier returns, and that change is altering who drives the market.
His view is that large institutions are taking a bigger role as the market matures. Instead of chasing rapid upside from volatile tokens, they are putting capital into structures that look closer to traditional finance and can be integrated into existing portfolios.
Tokenized RWAs are drawing institutional demand
Novogratz tied the shift to rising adoption of tokenized real-world assets, or RWAs. The article says institutions are favoring tokenized bonds, U.S. Treasuries, private credit, real estate, and money market funds over highly volatile crypto bets. Excluding stablecoins, the value of tokenized RWAs climbed from roughly $5 billion to $6 billion in 2022 to more than $19 billion in early 2026, a rise of about 280%.
The report also cited Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick, who said the RWA market could reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028 if institutional demand keeps building.
BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity are already active
The market shift is showing up in live products. Examples listed in the source include BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, which has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management, Franklin Templeton’s Benji platform that lets tokenized money market funds be used as collateral, and Fidelity’s tokenized funds on Ethereum.
The article also points to tokenized U.S. Treasuries and private credit gaining traction across global banks. These products are built around yield, collateral use, and operational efficiency. That is a very different center of gravity from meme-fueled trading.
FTX fallout and regulation helped reset the market
The piece argues that the 2022 collapse of FTX played a major role in forcing the sector to reset. Bitcoin fell roughly 22% during that episode, excessive leverage was flushed out, and trust in speculation-heavy platforms took a hit. In that environment, the market had less room to rely on the old cycle of hype and fast inflows.
Regulation is also shaping the next phase. The article references the GENIUS Act in the United States, MiCA in the European Union, and Singapore’s Payment Services Act as frameworks encouraging compliance and real-world use. Growth, in this reading, is coming from tokenized funds, ETFs, and settlement systems built by firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton.
Returns may normalize as crypto functions change
The article does not say volatility disappears. It says the role of crypto in the market is changing, from a vehicle centered on unpredictable price spikes to one tied more closely to financial services and repeatable returns. It also states that average investment returns may settle into a range of 5% to 11% annually as adoption expands.
That would mark a different stage for the sector: less dependent on speculative surges, and more closely linked to actual assets, institutional capital, and long-term business use.