How Capital Will Flood Crypto in 2026: The Secrets Revealed by Arcanum’s CEO

How Capital Really Moves Into Crypto in 2026

Serious investors are prioritizing tokenized real-world assets, stablecoins, institutional trading systems, and AI-linked compute networks.
Allocators still face major friction around custody, banking access, compliance, legal structure, due diligence, and internal reputation risk.
Platforms like Arcanum aim to support capital entry through investor control, real-time reporting, documented strategies, and exchange-based fund access.

During the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, BeInCrypto spoke with Michael Ivanov, CEO of Arcanum, Ciara Sun, founder of C² Ventures, and Ivan Ivanov, founder of UVECON.VC and RWA SUMMIT, about how money is expected to flow into the crypto market in 2026.

We discussed family offices, what investors are looking for, challenges with how things currently work, the growing interest in turning real-world assets into tokens, and why institutions are still hesitant to fully get involved.

Let’s dive into these topics now.

What Serious Investors Want in 2026

BeInCrypto: What does the capital journey into crypto look like from your side of the market?

Michael Ivanov: It is a thorny road full of rocks and holes.

Ciara Sun notes that a few years back, people invested in cryptocurrency hoping to profit from its potential growth. Now, investors are more focused on actual usage and a clear picture of how easily they can buy and sell crypto.

BeInCrypto: What kind of crypto opportunities are serious investors looking for in 2026?

According to Ciara Sun, sophisticated investors in 2026 are focusing on crypto applications that address practical issues, not just hype. Based on her work with exchanges and venture capital, the most promising areas are tokenization, stablecoins, platforms for institutional trading, and the combination of artificial intelligence, computing power, and energy solutions.

BeInCrypto: Ivan, what types of capital are showing the most interest now?

Ivan Ivanov explained that the answer varies depending on the specific cryptocurrency. He suggested distinguishing between Bitcoin, Ethereum, other alternative coins (altcoins), and assets that represent real-world items in digital form. Location also plays a significant role.

Based in Hong Kong, I have a good understanding of the Asian financial landscape. I’ve noticed that family offices in this region tend to be cautious with digital assets. In fact, one of the biggest multi-family offices in Asia reports that less than 5% of their clients’ investments are in crypto, and the majority of that goes into well-established options like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and crypto ETFs.

Investment funds operate differently. Currently, the most active ones manage crypto assets. Investors typically choose funds that are licensed and have a strong reputation.

While institutions are showing interest in investing in digital assets, they’re proceeding carefully. Over the next few years, tokenized real-world assets are likely to become more popular because they operate within existing regulations, represent tangible value, and are legally protected.

What Happens When Capital Enters a Platform Like Arcanum

BeInCrypto asks: If a family office invests in a platform like Arcanum, what are the practical, day-to-day steps that take place?

Our product is simple for everyone to use, whether they’re individual traders or large institutions. With Pulse, users just add their API keys to our Telegram Mini App – that’s all there is to it. We avoid unnecessary paperwork and make it easy for anyone to get started.

We work with clients who want to give Arcanum complete control over their funds through two main options. First, we can establish a license agreement with a clear plan for sharing profits. Second, we can create a joint company to manage the funds. When working with these clients, it’s important to be flexible and adapt to their needs.

What Gives Investors Confidence

BeInCrypto: What gives investors enough confidence to deploy capital into crypto today?

Ciara Sun points out that investors want to see evidence a team can deliver on its promises. They gain confidence when a project shows genuine progress, has a clear and straightforward financial structure, and demonstrates a plan for generating income or allowing investors to sell their tokens.

Investors should be asking if the company can weather tough times, handle potential problems, and keep expanding when the economy slows down.

BeInCrypto: Ivan, what makes a crypto project investable for allocators?

Ivan Ivanov notes that successful projects now need solid foundations – a real product, a proven history, proper legal setup, and safeguards for investors. The days of quick funding through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) are over. The current market is evolving to resemble traditional finance and venture capital more closely.

How Arcanum Helps Allocators Enter Crypto

BeInCrypto: How does Arcanum help allocators and investors enter crypto more efficiently?

Michael Ivanov explains that they offer straightforward strategies and methods. Pulse provides proven data suggesting potential profits, a largely automated system, and up-to-the-minute tracking, all of which create a clear understanding of performance.

As a researcher studying Pulse, I’ve found that it operates using subaccounts on Bybit, managed by what we call ‘allocators’. This is key because it means allocators always retain control of the funds. Importantly, users still have full access to their money whenever they need it.

We’re building a comprehensive investing platform that includes our own brokerage service, innovative trading algorithms like Wave, and a user-friendly terminal with reduced fees. We’ll also offer investors exclusive early access to new products. Our goal is to provide a simple way to start investing through a major exchange, and then keep them engaged with a full suite of tools and opportunities.

Where Capital Gets Stuck

BeInCrypto: Where does capital get stuck between investor interest and actual deployment?

Michael Ivanov explained that the biggest challenges for projects like theirs are related to establishing ownership (custody), getting clear authorization (mandate), thoroughly investigating participants (due diligence), and determining appropriate scale (sizing).

It’s difficult to gain custody of digital assets because financial institutions need to be able to verify ownership and security, and they won’t release assets to parties they can’t properly audit. Another hurdle is that many investment funds aren’t set up to invest in cryptocurrency – creating a new investment category for it can be a lengthy process, often taking months.

It’s also hard to thoroughly investigate crypto products because they often don’t meet the standards of traditional financial institutions – either the investment strategy isn’t well explained, or it hasn’t been checked by an independent source. Finally, determining the right amount of money to invest is a challenge. Without a solid way to assess the risks, investors struggle to decide how much capital to allocate.

BeInCrypto: Ivan, what is the hardest part for allocators bringing traditional capital into crypto?

From my perspective, a key takeaway right now is the growing importance of compliance and system reliability. We’ve seen a real hit to trust following the recent hacks in the DeFi space. This is leading people to view centralized exchanges and service providers as the more dependable option, particularly those operating with the proper licensing.

Traditional banks often make it difficult for businesses to work with cryptocurrency. Even if a company wants to invest in crypto through a legitimate provider, opening a bank account – for example, in Hong Kong – for that purpose can be challenging and often results in rejection.

The key issues are banking, investor protection, and compliance.

BeInCrypto: Ciara, where do strong crypto projects still lose investor confidence?

Ciara Sun points out that while a strong idea is a good start, investor confidence can quickly falter if the token’s design isn’t well-defined, the launch strategy is unclear, or the team can’t convincingly explain how they’ll handle finances, income, and potential risks.

Why Platforms Like Arcanum Interest Allocators

BeInCrypto: Why can platforms like Arcanum be interesting for allocators in the current market?

Ivan Ivanov emphasized the importance of a proven history, noting that Arcanum collaborates with Bybit, a leading company in the market, and has an official partnership with them.

If Arcanum establishes a secure and legally sound system that safeguards investors and builds trust, it will attract funding.

BeInCrypto asked Ciara whether she considers Arcanum to be a platform focused on providing access to the market, managing capital, or offering market technology.

Ciara Sun explains that Arcanum provides both easy access to trading strategies via bots and the underlying technology to support them. She emphasizes that traders prioritize risk management and transparency just as much as potential profits.

As an investor, I’m always curious how projects like Arcanum present themselves to potential partners. I’d really like to understand how they’re pitching themselves to other businesses, larger investment funds, and individual private investors – what’s their core message and strategy for attracting that kind of support?

Michael Ivanov feels ‘positioning’ isn’t quite the right way to describe their approach. He explains that they address different challenges for each audience.

Our partners can offer this product under their own brand, saving them the expense of building it themselves. Fund managers receive up-to-the-minute performance data and have complete control over their funds. Individual investors gain access to the product and a supportive network of fellow traders.

Control, Reporting, and Transparency

BeInCrypto: How does Arcanum handle control, reporting, and transparency for investors?

According to Michael Ivanov, addressing this is straightforward. It involves both how things are built technically and how users experience them.

As an investor, what I like about this is that I maintain complete control of my crypto – it stays right in my exchange account. Arcanum handles the actual trading strategy behind the scenes using their platform, but they work *with* my exchange, not *through* it. It’s like they’re an extra layer on top, giving me a user-friendly way to manage everything without giving up custody of my assets.

We prioritize transparency, as this is a common sticking point for crypto products when undergoing institutional evaluation. We offer a complete record of all trades and thoroughly documented strategy details.

As a researcher in the crypto space, I’m often asked about what investors look for. One thing that consistently comes up is operational transparency. Essentially, investors want to understand *how* a crypto project actually works – the inner workings, the team’s processes, and how decisions are made. It’s not just about the technology; they need to be confident in the project’s overall management and execution to feel comfortable investing.

Ciara Sun emphasizes that while crypto investors are willing to take risks, they need to understand *how* those risks are being managed. Openness and clear information build confidence and are essential for success in the crypto space.

Investors need to understand how funds are being used, the process behind key decisions, potential risks involved, and if the reported financial information is accurate and trustworthy.

BeInCrypto asked Ivan: What key information do family offices need to have before they’re willing to invest?

Ivan Ivanov emphasizes the importance of understanding legal protections and ensuring everything is set up correctly.

The Most Expensive Blocker

BeInCrypto: What is the most expensive blocker for institutional capital entering crypto today?

Michael Ivanov: The most expensive blocker is reputational inside the institution itself.

Getting funding requires approval from multiple boards and committees. People are also hesitant to trust information coming from cryptocurrency projects, particularly new ones or those with unproven approaches. Even if there’s genuine interest, individuals are reluctant to be the first to publicly support something that could be risky.

The true cost is significant, but it’s not directly obvious. Instead, it manifests as lost opportunities and projects that are constantly delayed.

BeInCrypto: Ciara, what is the biggest hidden cost for serious investors entering the market?

Ciara Sun points out that a major, often overlooked expense for investors is the ongoing work involved in managing their investments. This includes things like secure storage, legal compliance, detailed reporting, risk assessment, managing cash flow, and potentially handling scheduled releases of tokens. It’s a significant workload that many don’t fully anticipate.

BeInCrypto: Ivan, what needs to change for allocators to move capital faster?

Ivan Ivanov believes that improvements to banking infrastructure are essential, and that regulated stablecoins – those meeting legal requirements in various countries – could resolve a lot of current problems.

Where Demand Goes Next

BeInCrypto: Which crypto sectors are most likely to attract serious capital in 2026?

By 2026, significant investment will flow into industries where cryptocurrency truly becomes a practical part of finance and how businesses operate. Key areas of focus will include turning assets into tokens, stablecoins, systems for institutional trading and providing liquidity, and the computer and energy networks that power artificial intelligence.

BeInCrypto: Ivan, where do you expect the strongest allocator demand over the next year?

Ivan Ivanov believes that tokenized Real World Assets (RWAs) are the future, and that traditional investors will start participating once banks and other institutions do.

BeInCrypto: Michael, where do you expect Arcanum’s strongest demand to come from?

Michael Ivanov: We expect the strongest demand to come from Asian allocators and funds of funds.

These investors are already familiar with cryptocurrency and regularly allocate funds to quantitative trading firms that employ various strategies. Our platform seamlessly integrates into their existing investment process.

Even if new laws are passed, the US still needs more clarity before large-scale decisions can be made. Asia is currently making more progress in this area.

Trust Comes First

BeInCrypto: What needs to improve first for more capital to enter crypto?

Ivan Ivanov: Trust in the crypto market and market players. There are still too many bad actors.

Ciara Sun believes that more money will flow into cryptocurrency once it becomes more transparent, manages risk better, and has more dependable systems for safekeeping, legal compliance, trading, and reporting.

What needs to improve is the confidence that capital can enter, operate, and exit safely.

In the world of cryptocurrency, trust is incredibly valuable – it’s become the most important asset. Even if a project is open and easy to understand, we still have to work to build that trust with people.

2026-05-19 10:18