The BeInCrypto Institutional 100 Awards 2026 announced its “Retail to Crypto Bridge” shortlist on June 2, naming 20 influential firms that are currently narrowing the gap between traditional fiat and digital assets. The reveal took place during the Proof of Talk event at the Louvre Palace in Paris, where an independent expert council recognized companies including Revolut, Nubank, and Bunq for their role in consumer-facing infrastructure. These firms were selected across five distinct categories as the industry moves toward deeper integration with mainstream banking.
The competition centered on the consumer layer of institutional finance, covering neobanks, fintechs, and multi-asset brokers. This recognition comes as traditional institutions increasingly legitimise digital assets, a trend reflected in recent reports that Italy’s largest bank exceeds $200M in Bitcoin exposure through institutional channels. The 2026 awards use a quantitative screening process that evaluates verifiable revenue data and regulatory filings from April 2025 through March 2026.
The shortlist highlights a shift in how retail users interact with crypto, moving away from niche exchanges toward primary banking apps and established brokerage houses. The selection process, co-hosted by BeInCrypto and Proof of Talk, aims to spotlight the regulated entities that provide safe entry points for the next wave of global crypto adoption. This transition occurs as Bitcoin exchange supply maintains multi-year lows, driving investors toward these regulated institutional bridges.
Leading neobanks driving mass crypto adoption
In the “Best Digital Assets Neobank” category, four major players stood out for integrating crypto directly into checking and savings accounts. Revolut, serving 70 million customers globally, was recognized for its CySEC-granted MiCA license obtained in October 2025 and the rollout of Crypto 2.0. The firm currently reports 14 million active crypto users who have access to over 280 tokens and zero-fee staking.
Brazil’s Nubank also secured a spot on the shortlist, boasting over 4 million active crypto investors within its 100 million-plus Brazilian user base. The bank recently launched “Earn Crypto” staking in March 2026, utilizing institutional-grade tools like Fireblocks for custody. Notably, USDC has become the second most popular choice for a first-time crypto purchase among Nubank’s extensive clientele.
Bunq and SoFi rounded out the neobank category with significant technical milestones. Bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank with 17 million users, crossed €100 million in crypto trading volume in its first year and became the first European challenger to offer flexible staking in September 2025. Meanwhile, SoFi made history in May 2026 as the first US national bank to issue a retail stablecoin, SoFiUSD, on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
Brokerages and fintech platforms expand retail reach
The “Best Multi-Asset Broker” category recognized firms like Fidelity Investments and Interactive Brokers for merging traditional and digital portfolios. Fidelity was noted for integrating spot crypto ETFs, including its $18 billion FBTC fund, into standard brokerage accounts. Interactive Brokers, which serves 2.5 million accounts, expanded its direct crypto trading to the European Economic Area in April 2026 and launched crypto transfers in March.
The awards also identified leaders in the fintech and onramp sectors who facilitate instant swaps and fiat-to-crypto movement. Block was shortlisted for its massive footprint through Cash App’s 58 million users and the Bitkey hardware wallet. KAST joined them after a May 2026 Series A funding round that valued the firm at $600 million, supporting stablecoin spending at 150 million Visa merchants globally.
Stripe and Coinbase featured prominently in the onramp infrastructure category. Stripe’s orchestration platform, Bridge, received OCC trust charter approval in February 2026, while Coinbase Onramp now powers conversions for hundreds of consumer applications. These providers are critical for retail entrance into new markets, including the growing product inflows into diverse assets like Dogecoin.
Market prediction solutions and regulated derivatives
The final category, “Best Market Predictions Solution,” highlighted the explosive growth of event-contract platforms. Kalshi, a CFTC-regulated Designated Contract Market, recorded a peak monthly volume of $14.8 billion in April 2026. This category also recognized Polymarket, which re-entered the US market in late 2025 and secured a $2 billion investment from ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange.
As the winners were finalized at the Louvre, the presence of MiCA-authorized and CFTC-regulated firms on the shortlist suggests a new industry standard. The reliance on verifiable data and regulatory compliance signals that the consumer-facing bridge to crypto is increasingly built on the same foundations as traditional institutional finance. The “everything exchange” strategy, as seen with Coinbase’s US-wide prediction market rollout in January 2026, appears to be the dominant model for the year ahead.