The Genius Act ripple effect: Sui executives say institutional demand has never been higher

CoinDesk

by Jamie Crawley

February 14, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

The rise of institutional demand for cryptocurrency continues to gain momentum, according to Sui executives Evan Cheng and Stephen Mackintosh. Speaking at Consensus Hong Kong 2026, they highlighted 2025 as a pivotal year for crypto adoption, driven by the growth of digital asset treasuries (DAT) and the success of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Despite market volatility, institutional interest remains strong, with major financial firms like Citadel and Jane Street entering the crypto space and driving long-term structural shifts in the industry. Cheng emphasized the convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) through tokenization. He explained that tokenization allows institutions to instantly collateralize and borrow against assets, blending DeFi strategies with traditional financial instruments. This integration positions tokenization as a key enabler for the next phase of crypto adoption, offering a seamless bridge between legacy systems and decentralized technologies. Mackintosh underscored Sui’s unique position in this evolving landscape, attributing its success to its advanced infrastructure. Built by former Facebook engineers behind Libra, Sui offers low latency and high throughput, making it ideal for emerging use cases like agentic commerce—the intersection of AI and blockchain transactions. This focus on infrastructure and innovation places Sui at the forefront of crypto’s next

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Originally published on CoinDesk on 2/14/2026