Crypto is still in 'winter' price-wise but it's an 'institutional summer,' STS Digital CEO says

STS Digital CEO Maxime Seiler said digital-asset prices have diverged from institutional adoption, with institutions continuing to build on crypto technology even as token prices have underperformed.

“We're in crypto winter price-wise where we're in institutional summer,” Seiler told The Block's Kelvin Sparks at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium 2026.

Seiler said institutions are adopting the underlying technology rather than necessarily directing capital into tokens, contributing to a gap between adoption and asset prices.

“As institutions come in and adopt the technology, money doesn't flow necessarily into the tokens today,” Seiler said. “It's the technology that is being adopted.”

Bitcoin was trading above $77,000 early Friday, up 8% over 24 hours but still about 38% below its $126,000 all-time high. Ethereum exchanged hands for around $2,400, 52% below its $4,946 peak, while Solana at $90.93 remains roughly 69% below its $293 high, The Block's crypto prices page shows. 

Seiler also pointed to the decline in bitcoin futures basis as evidence of the crypto market's maturation. He said annualized futures basis that reached 20%-30% during the 2021 cycle has since converged toward the risk-free rate.

“Future bases have converged pretty close to the risk-free rate and they have also become much more stable,” Seiler said.

The CEO attributed the change partly to deeper channels for dollars to move into and out of crypto, saying the basis and forward rate had become considerably less volatile than in the 2021 cycle.

STS Digital partners with Clear Street 

Bob Rutherford, CEO of Clear Street Digital, joined Seiler in the interview and confirmed a strategic partnership with STS Digital under which STS will power Clear Street's digital asset offering.

Rutherford said the firm is also rolling out 24-6 trading across all asset classes. He said the shift reflects growing demand for markets that operate outside traditional weekday hours.

“We live in a global economy where news cycles rotate every five minutes,” Rutherford said. “And nobody cares if it's Sunday at 2 in the morning.”

Meanwhile, Seiler said 24/7 trading across all assets will create the need for margining, clearing, and collateral settlement to operate around the clock, pointing to Hyperliquid's weekend traction as pressure making traditional finance extend its hours.

STS raised $30 million in a strategic funding round in February led by CMT Digital, with participation from Payward, Strobe Ventures, Arrington Capital, F-Prime, and BitRock Capital. The firm said at the time that it would use the capital to expand its market-making capabilities and institutional spot and options platform.

The firm is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. In August 2024, STS Digital acquired Swiss crypto market maker Flovtec, integrating its trading infrastructure and proprietary algorithms into STS's platform.