The Onchain Readiness Report

How Banks, Fintechs, and Institutional Operators are Approaching Onchain Adoption

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About this Report

The Onchain Readiness Report from zerohash and Ava Labs shows that institutional onchain adoption is further along than the market narrative suggests. Built on a survey of 162 operators and executives across banks, fintechs, payments companies, brokerages, asset managers, and crypto-native firms, the report replaces anecdote with data on what's working, what's holding progress back, and where investment is flowing. The question has shifted from whether blockchain infrastructure works to whether the organization around it is ready.

Adoption Is Real, but Uneven

More than a third of respondents (37.7%) already call blockchain infrastructure a standard part of their business, and 32.1% name onchain rails a core strategic priority. Payments companies (57.9%) and brokerages (45.8%) are setting the pace. Banks are the furthest from "already standard" today at 15.4%, yet 61.5% expect it within two years, the fastest expected catch-up of any segment.

Where the Investment Is Going

Stablecoin payments and settlement (37.7%) and RWA tokenization (25.3%) account for 63% of expected investment over the next 24 months. Priorities differ by vertical: Banks are betting on tokenization, while fintechs are betting on cross-border settlement. Looking ahead, 46.9% of respondents expect AI agents to routinely transact on behalf of customers within two years, rising to 63.6% among product leaders. The multi-chain picture is still taking shape, with 22.8% unsure how many networks they'll need to support.

Regulatory Clarity Is the Industry’s Biggest Lever

Regulatory uncertainty is both the most-cited barrier to adoption (38.9%) and, in the form of regulatory clarity, the most-cited accelerant (68.5%). That makes it a rare issue that tops both sides of the ledger. Technical integration complexity weighs most on banks, payments companies, and large enterprises, while asset managers point to gaps in internal expertise. Even the most bullish respondents tied their outlook to regulatory conditions, not technical readiness.