Digital Wallets

Crypto executives and banking leaders increasingly see younger consumers moving toward wallets that hold stablecoins, tokenized deposits and other digital assets. The shift points to a future where banks remain important, but the standalone bank account may no longer be the default financial hub.

BlackRock’s digital asset products fell to $48.8 billion from $79.6 billion over the past year, despite strong investor inflows. Market depreciation of $45.8 billion outweighed new money, underscoring the sensitivity of crypto funds to bitcoin and ether price weakness.

Vanguard is seeking a head of digital assets to build a multi-year roadmap across tokenization, stablecoins, custody and blockchain infrastructure. The move points to a measured evolution in the asset manager’s crypto posture after it began allowing clients to trade crypto ETFs and mutual funds.