88% of Banks Are Now Funding Digital Asset Infrastructure — Is Georgia's Financial Sector Keeping Pace?
// A Fireblocks survey of 600+ senior bankers finds 88% have budgeted for digital asset infrastructure — but only 16% are in production.
88% of Banks Are Now Funding Digital Asset Infrastructure — Is Georgia's Financial Sector Keeping Pace?
Atlanta – August 11, 2026. By Tony Erwin
A new global survey from digital asset infrastructure provider Fireblocks delivers a striking data point: nearly nine in ten financial institutions worldwide have already set aside 2026 budget for digital asset infrastructure, or plan to shortly. The survey was of 600+ C-suite and senior decision-makers at global and regional transaction banks, investment banks, commercial and digital banks, custodians, etc. That number — 88% — is the clearest signal yet that this is no longer speculative or an emerging-technology bet confined to a handful of early movers. It has become mainstream budget planning across financial institutions.
What this actually means for Georgia's banks and Fintechs. The survey's findings were consistent across institution types. It wasn't just digital-native challengers making investments in digital asset infrastructure, but the largest transaction and investment banks as well. For Georgia's fintech and banking community, the takeaway is less about any single bank's roadmap and more about what this signals about the competitive landscape when almost 9 of 10 institutions make budget commitments. Digital asset capability is shifting from a differentiator to a baseline expectation.
The catch: funding isn't the same as capability. Despite an 88% commitment rate, only 16% of institutions surveyed report having actually reached production. Fireblocks frames this as an infrastructure preparedness issue rather than a resourcing one — unresolved decisions around custody architecture, wallet governance, and regulatory compliance are what stand between budget approval and a live system. The use case and market drivers are a bit different depending on their place in the market, but cross-border payments, settlement, and tokenization were at the top of the list.
Why the gap matters locally. If most institutions are funding this work, the operative question for Georgia's banks and fintechs isn't whether to build — it's how long you can afford to wait. Some will be able to move quickly, but for others, internal reviews around infrastructure preparedness for digital assets (custody, governance, compliance) needed to be started yesterday. We want to see our local Fintech community prepared before competitors and counterparties close the gap first. An interesting quote from the article says, “43% of respondents cite non-bank competitive pressure as the critical driver of their investment. They recognize that fintechs, payment providers, and digital asset platforms are not waiting to build digital asset capabilities.” With the rise of neobanks and forward-thinking fintechs, holding to the status quo won't cut it as digital assets become more and more mainstream.
Source
Stephen Richardson, “The Financial Grid: The 2026 Data Behind Banks' Digital Asset Build,” Fireblocks, April 14, 2026: fireblocks.com/blog/launch-financial-grid-global
FutureTechGA.org — tracking blockchain, AI, and digital asset developments relevant to Georgia's financial services community.
Tony Erwin
Co-Founder FutureTechGA and Owner of Skyrocket Financial Solutions LLC.