53% of continental European institutions have committed digital asset budgets for 2026, vs 36% in the UK. Fireblocks' survey shows a shift to full-stack providers, with Qivalis selecting the firm for a MiCAR-compliant stablecoin project.
Alpha Score of 75 reflects strong overall profile with strong momentum, strong value, strong quality. Based on 3 of 4 signals — score is capped at 90 until remaining data ingests.
European banks and financial institutions are done shopping for crypto infrastructure one piece at a time. They want the whole thing, built by one provider, under one roof.
That is the core finding from Fireblocks' latest report, “The Financial Grid Europe + UK,” published on May 13. The survey shows a decisive shift among institutional players on both sides of the English Channel toward full-stack digital asset infrastructure providers, rather than stitching together isolated point solutions for custody, payments, settlement, and tokenization.
Continental Europe is further along in committing real dollars. Some 53% of institutions in the region had already locked in digital asset infrastructure budgets heading into 2026. That is meaningfully above the global average of 42%.
The UK is playing catch-up and moving fast. Only 36% of UK institutions had committed budgets at the start of the year. An additional 59% are earmarking funds for investment during 2026, the report said.
Security sits at the top of the checklist. Around 67% of continental European institutions cite secure custody and wallet governance as a top factor when choosing a provider. UK institutions lean even harder into resilience, with 68% prioritizing security architecture and operational resilience, followed by 64% focusing on custody specifically.
Two different regulatory dynamics are shaping infrastructure decisions. Continental Europe has the clarity advantage thanks to MiCAR, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation that provides a unified framework across EU member states. The UK, meanwhile, is working with an evolving framework. That has not dampened enthusiasm – 100% of UK respondents and 99% of continental European institutions expect favorable regulatory outcomes. It does mean UK institutions are building with flexibility in mind, wanting providers that can adapt when rules crystallize.
This divergence helps explain why continental European institutions were quicker to commit budgets. Regulatory clarity reduces the risk of building something that becomes non-compliant six months later. The UK's slightly later timeline for budget commitments maps neatly onto its still-developing rulebook.
The practical impact of MiCAR's clarity is already visible. The Qivalis consortium, a group of 12 major European banks including BNP Paribas and ING, selected Fireblocks on April 21 as their infrastructure partner for a MiCAR-compliant euro-denominated stablecoin project. ING, which holds an Alpha Score of 75, is among the consortium members. The project is targeting launch in the second half of 2026.
Fireblocks currently serves over 95 banks globally, giving it a substantial foothold in the race to become the default infrastructure layer for institutional digital assets. The Qivalis deal reinforces that position in Europe specifically.
The budgets being committed now are predicated on rules that, in the UK's case at least, have not been finalized. Any regulatory surprise could trigger a rapid reassessment of infrastructure commitments, the survey data suggests.
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