A CfC St. Moritz survey of 242 invitation-only attendees in January — including institutional investors, founders, C-suite executives, regulators and family office representatives — shows capital priorities in crypto shifting toward core infrastructure and away from decentralized finance (DeFi).
Eighty-five percent of respondents named infrastructure their top funding priority, ranking it ahead of DeFi, compliance, cybersecurity and user experience. While overall expectations for revenue growth and innovation remain generally positive, many respondents said liquidity shortages are the sector’s most urgent risk, indicating investor interest persists but deployment is becoming more selective.
Survey participants pointed to market depth and settlement capacity as the main bottlenecks preventing larger pools of institutional capital from entering crypto. About 84% described the macroeconomic backdrop as better than neutral for crypto growth, yet a large share argued that current market plumbing is not yet robust enough to support substantial institutional allocations.
Expectations for innovation were more cautious than a year earlier. Most respondents expect acceleration in 2026, but fewer predict a sharp surge in novel projects compared with last year. That suggests a move toward execution-focused development rather than speculative experimentation, with priorities centering on custody, clearing, stablecoin infrastructure and tokenization frameworks rather than consumer-facing applications.
Perceptions of the U.S. regulatory environment improved significantly: respondents ranked the United States as the second-most favorable jurisdiction for digital assets, behind the United Arab Emirates. CfC St. Moritz attributes the shift to clearer guidance on stablecoins and banking rules. Meanwhile, expectations for crypto initial public offerings have cooled after a record 2025; listings are still expected to continue, but confidence has softened amid valuation resets and liquidity constraints.
This report reflects the views of senior attendees at a private industry conference and highlights a broader trend toward strengthening market plumbing and liquidity solutions to attract larger institutional capital. Readers are encouraged to verify details independently and consider the survey’s respondent profile when interpreting the findings.