A new report from the BlackRock Investment Institute has identified a historic shift in the cryptocurrency landscape, positioning stablecoins as foundational rails for the market and highlighting Ethereum's emerging role as the primary settlement layer for tokenized finance. Simultaneously, analysis from Captain Altcoin underscores Chainlink's (LINK) growing importance as the critical infrastructure enabling this convergence of traditional and decentralized finance.
BlackRock's 2026 Global Outlook frames stablecoins as having evolved far beyond a crypto trading convenience. Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s global head of market development, states in the report that stablecoins are "becoming the bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity." The report notes their integration into mainstream payment systems and cross-border transfers, especially in emerging markets. The total stablecoin market cap stood at approximately $298 billion as of January 5, 2026, with USDT and USDC dominating.
Regulatory clarity, particularly the U.S. GENIUS Act signed into law on July 18, 2025, is cited as a key driver, changing the risk calculus for institutions. This legal framework for payment stablecoins is facilitating real-world integration, exemplified by Visa's December 2025 launch of USDC settlement in the U.S., with initial banking participants settling over the Solana blockchain.
The report argues that as stablecoins mature into complex uses like collateral and treasury management, the need for a robust, trusted base layer becomes paramount. BlackRock identifies Ethereum as this settlement "bedrock," not for being the cheapest chain, but for its role as the security and finality anchor for an ecosystem where execution and settlement are separate. Ethereum hosts roughly $12.5 billion in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), representing about a 65% market share.
Institutional adoption patterns support this view. BlackRock's own tokenized money-market fund, BUIDL, debuted on Ethereum. JPMorgan also launched a tokenized money-market fund on Ethereum, accepting subscriptions in cash or USDC, a move tied to post-GENIUS Act regulatory shifts.
Parallel analysis from Captain Altcoin emphasizes Chainlink's (LINK) pivotal role in this institutional shift. The platform, which began as a provider of reliable data feeds (oracles), is now seen as the "connective tissue" between blockchains and real-world systems, essential for the tokenization of stocks, bonds, and real estate. Roughly 70% of DeFi, including over 80% on Ethereum, relies on Chainlink infrastructure, which has facilitated over $27 trillion in transaction value.
Chainlink's technology, specifically the Chainlink Runtime Environment (CRE) and the Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), is simplifying complexity for institutions. CRE acts as an orchestration layer across fragmented systems, while CCIP enables secure transfers of data and value between chains. Major entities like JPMorgan (via Kinexis), UBS, Euroclear, Coinbase, and even SWIFT are exploring or have adopted these solutions.
The report cautions that risks remain, including issuer risk—highlighted by S&P Global Ratings' November 2025 downgrade of its assessment of Tether's reserves—and potential restrictive policy responses in emerging markets. Furthermore, Ethereum's dominance is not guaranteed, as shown by Visa's Solana pilot. However, the consensus from both analyses is that the convergence of DeFi and traditional finance into a single on-chain system is accelerating, with Ethereum as the settlement standard and Chainlink as the essential trust and data layer.
