STS Digital chief executive Maxime Seiler says cryptocurrency prices remain in a “winter”, even as institutional interest in blockchain technology has entered an “institutional summer”.
“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 the apparent contradiction reflected the way large institutions were approaching digital assets. Rather than directing significant amounts of capital into tokens, he said many were adopting the underlying technology, creating a widening gap between technology use and token 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 on Friday, having risen 8% over a 24-hour period. However, it remained about 38% below its all-time high of $126,000.
Ethereum was changing hands at about $2,400, which is 52% below its peak of $4,946. Solana was priced at $90.93, approximately 69% beneath its high of $293, according to The Block’s crypto prices page.
Seiler also highlighted developments in the bitcoin futures market as evidence that the sector has matured. He said the annualised futures basis – the difference between futures prices and the underlying spot market – had reached 20%-30% during the 2021 cycle but had since moved closer to 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.
According to Seiler, the shift was partly the result of improved channels for moving dollars into and out of the crypto market. He said both the basis and the forward rate had become considerably less volatile than they were during the 2021 cycle.
Clear Street Digital partnership
Bob Rutherford, chief executive of Clear Street Digital, also took part in the interview and confirmed that the company had entered into a strategic partnership with STS Digital.
Under the arrangement, STS Digital will provide the technology powering Clear Street’s digital asset offering.
Rutherford said Clear Street was also introducing 24-6 trading across all asset classes. He said the move was driven by increasing demand for markets that remain open beyond traditional weekday trading 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.”
Seiler said the expansion of trading hours would also require margining, clearing and collateral settlement to function around the clock. He pointed to the weekend activity on Hyperliquid as evidence of pressure on traditional finance to extend its operating hours.
STS Digital raised $30 million in a strategic funding round in February. The round was led by CMT Digital, with Payward, Strobe Ventures, Arrington Capital, F-Prime and BitRock Capital also participating.
At the time, the company said it would use the funding to expand its market-making capabilities and its institutional spot and options platform.
STS Digital is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. In August 2024, it acquired Swiss crypto market maker Flovtec, bringing Flovtec’s trading infrastructure and proprietary algorithms into the STS Digital platform.
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