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Crypto Enters a New Era: Institutional Adoption, Stablecoins and DeFi Growth

DeFinition by Accountable 2026

October 21, 2026

Video Transcript

Host: And we are live from Definition at Token 2049 in Singapore, and this is of course where institutions and builders and tokenized credit and yields and stablecoins meet, and of course it is powered by Accountable, the verification layer bringing institutional finance on chain. And I have the pleasure to be joined right now by Marco Manopo, who's coming right straight from his panel. Marco Manopo is general partner at SharpBite Capital. Marco, welcome to Fintech TV.

Marco Manopo: Thanks for having me.

Host: So first of all, I think it's, uh, we have to start by talking about SharpBite. Uh, tell us more about SharpBite Capital. What is your focus and what kind of companies do you back?

Marco Manopo: So we are a, what I like to call as a DeFi native yield fund. Essentially we are liquidity provider in the crypto ecosystems, in the on-chain ecosystems. We do a lot of these deals with early stage stablecoin projects, early stage real world asset projects, and so on. Taking a step, a step back a bit, our thesis was that we feel that in the next 5 years there is gonna be a huge influx of basically just more of these products coming on chain. They're all going to compete for liquidity, for TVL, and we are there to basically facilitate that, right?

Host: And so we, we just said you have just come off the panel, uh, on institutional infrastructure race. Uh, what was your main takeaway, let's say?

Marco Manopo: The main takeaway is that I do think that the people in this event, in this crowd, the institutional side of crypto, finally feel that the wind is behind their back. It's been a saying since 2017, you know, oh, the institutions are gonna come, are gonna come, are gonna come, they're gonna do something, but in the past 18 months we have seen like, uh, an exponential growth on that aspect, and I think this event was the culmination of that, right?

Host: And, and when we talk about institutional capital, uh, I think it now comes with a longer horizon and a higher bar. Uh, how has that changed what founders need to build right now?

Marco Manopo: I think founders need to be a lot more. It's basically not as, not as the same as 2017, 2021 crypto cycle in which you would see a lot of these perhaps more, they have good intentions, but they are cyberpunks or maybe founders that haven't properly managed the business before, but now the level of rigor that is being asked by whether you're a venture capitalist or you're an institution instead of deploying to crypto is a lot higher. So I think overall it's just maturation, right?

Host: And, and what we're seeing right now is that, uh, some categories are already consolidating around, uh, a few strong players, let's say, uh, which ones feel more settled to you personally?

Marco Manopo: Settled as in it's no, no more consolidation or there's gonna be more consolidation?

Host: More stable, let's say, more, more settled in.

Marco Manopo: The more settled in, yeah. I would say the top 3 stablecoin and the top 3 centralized exchange are pretty settled. Yeah, those are, yeah, those are the kings of the industry.

Host: OK, that's great. So in, in, in which areas do you think are still wide open for new companies?

Marco Manopo: Uh, crypto payments, um, vault infrastructure still, so it's quite open and I would say just like broadly a lot of the blockchains, uh, that were launched in the past couple of years have finally realized they have to do something or else they would consolidate. So I think those three things are the ones that we're seeing.

Host: And, and, and how do you see the competition in these areas going on?

Marco Manopo: I think ultimately they need to realize whether they wanted to play the venture game and sort of like continue in fundraising and vertically integrating everything, you know, like be the most well capitalized company and play that old school venture game, but or we're starting to see some founders have actually opted in to just win regionally or like locally, let's say a crypto payments company. Uh, we're gonna win the Latin America market, right? And then they can sort of like just become more cash flow style of business, but overall I think right now there's more option for these founders on which path that they wanna go towards, right?

Host: I also wanna get your take on this because we're seeing like a, let's say a trend, but it's, it's a wave of mergers and acquisitions, you know, across the industry. Uh, what is driving it?

Marco Manopo: Mm. One, the relatively lack of VC funding in comparisons to the past cycle, so I think ultimately, um, that propelled just further effect because then these VCs are also need to be a lot more careful in terms of their deployment, in terms of them talking to their LPs, their allocators, and, and so on. So I think we're starting to see this effect that basically you can no longer be a 19 year old founder with no product raising at 30 million valuation basically. So we're starting to see all of those teams that were no longer able to raise capital and over time the run rate 2, 3, 4 years, then I think that's sort of like the main thing that's still going on right now, right?

Host: And do you think we're, we're gonna see a lot more of these?

Marco Manopo: Yes, I think in the next, in the next 1 or 2 years, I still think that that's the case.

Host: And, uh, also what trends are you seeing across Asia and the rest of the world, of course, uh, that we should probably pay attention to?

Marco Manopo: I think the number one trend, and this might not be just Asia, but I do think Asia is a pretty big market for this, is definitely the dollarization of offshore crypto dollar. Basically it's euro dollar, petro dollar, crypto dollar, right? And we're starting to see now basically the USD in circulation outside of the United States are mostly in crypto forms and they're very big in Asia. I think that trend is only gonna go up.

Host: It's gonna continue.

Marco Manopo: It's, it's only gonna continue. I mean there are certain currencies that might be stronger, but overall it's gonna continue.

Host: And, and, and looking like two years ahead, what will the winners in this space, you know, have in common?

Marco Manopo: I think they're able to strategically align their investors and their partners. I know that's cliche perhaps, but right now, given how much more mature the space is, really aligning yourself with the stakeholders and like knowing, OK, what sort of like moat that I can create by creating those alignments are gonna be the number one thing, because if you just compete on pure capital, I think it's tough.

Host: Yeah, Marco, thank you very much for coming on Fintech TV. It's been a great pleasure.

Marco Manopo: Thank you.

The cryptocurrency industry is entering a new phase as institutional investors bring greater scrutiny, capital and operational discipline to digital asset markets. At TOKEN2049 Singapore 2026, FinTech.TV correspondent Bassel Sabri spoke with Marco Manoppo, General Partner at SharpByte Capital, during DeFinition by Accountable. The conversation explored how institutional adoption was reshaping cryptocurrency investment, why liquidity was becoming increasingly important to blockchain ecosystems and where new opportunities were emerging across stablecoins, decentralized finance and tokenized real-world assets.

Manoppo explained how SharpByte Capital was positioning itself as a DeFi-native yield fund focused on providing liquidity to emerging blockchain projects. The firm’s investment strategy centered on supporting stablecoin protocols, real-world asset initiatives and other on-chain financial platforms seeking to attract liquidity and grow their total value locked. He discussed why the continued migration of financial products onto blockchain infrastructure could create significant opportunities for liquidity providers and investors over the coming years.

The conversation also examined the growing maturity of the cryptocurrency industry as institutional participation accelerated. Drawing on his experience across previous market cycles, Manoppo highlighted how expectations for founders and emerging projects had changed. While earlier cycles often rewarded ambitious ideas and aggressive fundraising, institutional investors were increasingly prioritizing credible business models, operational discipline, profitability and sustainable growth.

Market consolidation was another major focus. Manoppo discussed how leading stablecoin issuers and centralized cryptocurrency exchanges had established strong competitive positions, making it increasingly difficult for new entrants to challenge established players. However, he identified crypto payments, DeFi vault infrastructure and emerging blockchain ecosystems as areas where opportunities for innovation and competition remained.

The discussion also explored the changing venture capital environment and its impact on cryptocurrency startups. With investors becoming more selective and funding less readily available than during previous cycles, Manoppo explained why more companies were considering mergers, acquisitions and alternative growth strategies. He highlighted how founders could choose between pursuing global expansion through substantial venture funding or building profitable businesses focused on specific regional markets.

Looking beyond traditional cryptocurrency trading, Manoppo identified the growing importance of dollar-denominated digital assets across Asia. He discussed how stablecoins and offshore crypto dollars were becoming increasingly relevant to international finance, potentially supporting new payment infrastructure, cross-border transactions and on-chain financial services. The conversation highlighted how blockchain technology could extend the reach of dollar-based financial activity beyond conventional banking networks.

Strategic partnerships were another important theme as Manoppo shared his perspective on what could distinguish successful cryptocurrency companies over the next two years. He emphasized why founders needed to align investors, partners and other stakeholders around long-term business objectives, explaining how these relationships could help companies develop stronger competitive advantages without relying exclusively on fundraising.

As DeFinition by Accountable brought together institutional investors and blockchain innovators during TOKEN2049 Singapore, Manoppo’s insights highlighted a cryptocurrency industry increasingly focused on practical applications, capital efficiency and sustainable business development. His outlook suggested that the next phase of digital asset growth could be driven less by speculative enthusiasm and more by institutional infrastructure, strategic liquidity provision and commercially viable financial products.

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