UMB Bank has reported strong annual growth across its Institutional Custody business, holding US$250 billion in assets under custody as of March 31, 2026, representing a 19% year-on-year increase from the same period in 2025. According to the latest reports, this figure also marks a 298% rise since custody became a standalone business at UMB in 2019. The Institutional Custody division, led by Amy Small, executive vice president and executive director of Institutional Custody, serves fund managers, municipalities, insurance providers and other institutional clients. The bank attributes growth to increased demand from municipal government and insurance clients, rising interest in private and semi-liquid funds, and greater need for liquidity solutions among asset managers.
The BeInCrypto Institutional 100 has announced its 2026 long list of 15 digital asset managers covering spot ETFs, tokenized funds, ETPs, crypto trusts, and public-market vehicles. According to the announcement, this category sits under Pillar 2: Capital Markets & Infrastructure within the annual research-driven program recognizing institutional digital asset excellence across 26 categories and six pillars. The 15 firms are listed alphabetically and are not ranked, with a shortlist to be named in May 2026 and the winner announced at Proof of Talk in Paris on June 2–3, 2026.
The selection process involved more than 30 firms screened, with 15 advancing to the long list. As reported by BeInCrypto, the scoring methodology allocates 30% quantitative data, 50% Expert Council, and 20% disclosed company data. The assessment criteria include assets under management (AUM), product breadth, regulatory status, distribution reach, tokenization and staking integration, fee competitiveness, institutional adoption, track record, and reputation. Data verification was conducted using SEC EDGAR filings, ETF flow trackers including Farside and SoSoValue, issuer disclosures, regulatory registers including VARA, FCA, FINMA, BaFin, MAS and MiCA-CASP, audited reports, and private-market sources including PitchBook, Tracxn, and Crunchbase.
BlackRock leads with $12.5T+ AUM, followed by 21Shares at $11B+ AUM with 55 listed products, and Grayscale Investments at $20B+ combined AUM with single-asset crypto trusts. According to the long list, BitMine Immersion Technologies holds 5.21M ETH worth $13.4B total holdings, while Bitwise Asset Management manages $4.5B+ combined AUM post-ETC Group acquisition. Fidelity Investments maintains $15T+ AUA platform with FBTC at $15B–$18B AUM, and VanEck operates with $110B+ total AUM across US and European markets.
Purpose Investments holds the distinction of launching the world's first spot Bitcoin ETF in 2021, entering spot crypto ETFs three years before US launch. As reported by BeInCrypto, Nine Blocks Capital Management represents the first VARA-licensed crypto hedge fund with $180M+ AUM and 17%+ annualised returns since June 2021. CoinShares operates a $6B AUM platform with 39 products and became Nasdaq-listed via $1.2B SPAC in April 2026. BitMine Immersion Technologies uplisted to NYSE in April 2026 and is chaired by Tom Lee of Fundstrat.
The long list includes traditional asset managers expanding into crypto, dedicated crypto ETP issuers, and multi-jurisdiction index providers. According to BeInCrypto, the category includes traditional asset managers expanding into crypto, dedicated crypto ETP issuers, multi-jurisdiction index providers, and selected edge-case inclusions such as public-market crypto treasury vehicles and regulated crypto hedge funds where the asset management surface is institutionally relevant. The program recognizes firms running regulated institutional digital asset investment products, including spot ETFs, ETPs, tokenized money market funds, index funds, structured products, and public-market crypto exposure vehicles.
