Institutions remain risk-averse about crypto, says Fireblocks CEO

Fireblocks recently announced a MPC wallet as a service product

article-image

mundissima/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Fireblocks CEO and co-founder Michael Shaulov had some harsh truths to share for institutionally-minded crypto natives — that is, people who want to see Fortune 500 companies develop blockchain solutions and dive headfirst into Web3.

“The crypto native crowd is a subset of the market that they are interested in going after,” Shaulov said during the Permissionless conference today in Austin, Texas. “Most of their addressable market is actually people that have never interacted with crypto or Web3 before.”

That’s why, Shaulov said, it’s even more complicated for large, household-named corporations to launch successful Web3 ventures. 

Meta’s Diem project is a perfect example of a big company misfiring in the blockchain space. Formerly known as Libra, Diem was Meta’s ultimately unsuccessful attempt to introduce a stablecoin. 

But this isn’t something that’s just an issue with Meta, according to Shaulov.

He cited a recent Coinbase survey, which found that 52% of the Fortune 100 have established some kind of initiative relating to Web3 or crypto since 2020. 

Looking at that number in isolation makes the state of adoption look rosy, but Shaulov said he believes that fewer than 50 recognizable brands have launched major Web3 initiatives that are repeatable.

That’s simply because there’s too much risk, which exists mainly on the regulatory front, Shaulov said. The confusion companies deal with boils down to things as foundational as how to structure a balance sheet when crypto is involved.

“If you have [ether] ETH you need to pay for transactions or you’re holding assets for your clients, how do you account for it?” Shaulov remarked.

Additionally, companies may be wary of entering crypto because of all the different licensing regimes worldwide, Shaulov contended. Finally, security concerns linger for companies that might debut wallet-based products.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research

article-image

The Ethereum Foundation’s newly-formed Protocol division — leaner, led by EF veterans — sets the stage for the chain’s next major hard fork

article-image

The gap between cryptography breakthroughs is shortening

article-image

The Solana Attestation Service acts like a passport, letting wallets verify their permissions without doxxing the user

article-image

New legal developments and renewed US-China tensions have traders wondering if a “TACO Tuesday” is in the cards this week

article-image

The ETF Store president Nate Geraci expects the SEC to approve spot solana ETFs — and staking within SOL and ether ETFs — in 2025

article-image

Yuga cofounder Greg Solano says it’s time to be thoughtful, ‘but also kinda fucking ruthless’