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Mike Foy, ACA, is Chief Financial Officer at AMINA Bank, with prior CFO experience at a London fintech and senior roles at Barclays.
Ultra-high-net-worth investors have long relied on private banking for discretion, stability, and personalized service. Yet as digital assets near USD 4 trillion and tokenization expands access to real estate and private credit, wealth is no longer limited by borders or traditional financial rails. While the strengths of private banks remain undeniable, with tailored relationship management and privileged access to exclusive investments, their slow innovation cycles and limited digital asset access create friction where there should be fluidity.
A parallel class of financial institutions has steadily taken shape: crypto banks built on blockchain rails. No longer a niche experiment, they offer ultra-high-net-worth investors borderless wealth mobility, programmable finance through smart contracts, and seamless entry into emerging products such as tokenized real estate, private credit, and DeFi products.
This is not about chasing a trend. It is about ensuring that wealth strategies evolve with the infrastructure already powering tomorrow’s financial systems and empowering those who wish to use them.
Stablecoins and tokenized assets are no longer at the fringes; they are moving into the heart of capital markets. Bullish’s recent NYSE listing, a first-of-its-kind IPO where proceeds were settled predominantly in USDC and partly in Ripple USD (RLUSD) along with other euro- and dollar-pegged tokens, shows how settlement is being rewritten. Stablecoins are proving their ability to bridge traditional markets and crypto. This isn’t an isolated event: IPOs, bond issuances, and even cross-border M&A transactions will never look the same again.
When comparing traditional private banks with crypto banks, the contrasts are striking.
Beyond fiat, equities, and bonds, crypto banks offer a broader set of asset classes such as crypto, crypto derivatives, crypto-backed loans, and other blockchain-native assets. Crypto banks also offer hybrid-custody control, combining traditional bank-grade security with self-custody autonomy. While trades and cross-border transfers can take days to settle at private banks, crypto banks enable near-instant settlement of complex transactions. Blockchain infrastructure operates continuously, independent of banking hours or national borders. This creates seamless wealth mobility without geographic or time constraints.
This shift brings genuine complexities. Regulatory frameworks differ across jurisdictions, though recent developments point towards greater clarity. The GENIUS Act in the USA, which sets clear rules for stablecoin issuance and reserve backing, and the CLARITY Act, providing guidance on digital commodity oversight, shape a more transparent framework for institutional participation.
For ultra-high-net-worth investors, this is not background noise; it is the signal. Switzerland’s FINMA issued the first crypto banking licenses in 2019. Meanwhile, Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation provides the most comprehensive framework for digital assets, while Hong Kong is positioning itself as a hub for tokenized markets. Further, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has rolled out progressive licensing regimes to attract global wealth. These parallel developments show that digital assets are being architected into the mainstream financial system. Missing this momentum could mean missing out on the infrastructure that will secure, grow, and transfer wealth going forward.
Custody and security remain paramount. Selecting regulated, reputable crypto banks is critical, particularly those that bridge institutional safeguards with blockchain-based innovations. For ultra-high-net-worth investors accustomed to discretion and continuity, this due diligence process is a must.
We are at an inflection point in global wealth management. Just as private banking once distinguished wealth management from mass banking, crypto banks are now defining the next frontier.
The question facing ultra-high-net-worth investors is not whether crypto banks belong in their wealth strategies. It is how quickly they will adapt before this transformative infrastructure becomes the standard.
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