Swiss private banks have spent much of 2026 expanding cryptocurrency services for wealthy clients. Now, a different investment question is emerging: Can blockchain networks be valued as infrastructure businesses with sustainable revenue?
WisdomTree, the asset manager overseeing $175.8 billion, brought together around 40 private bankers, wealth managers and family offices in Lugano and Milan this week to examine that proposition.
The participants came from institutions collectively managing more than €800 billion. The discussions centered on research examining Arbitrum, an Ethereum-based blockchain network, and its emerging revenue streams from transaction fees and technology licensing.
The focus reflects a potential shift in institutional crypto investing, from gaining exposure to Bitcoin and Ether toward assessing the businesses and financial infrastructure supporting digital assets.
WisdomTree’s analysis provides a concrete example of that transition. It also raises a more difficult question: whether the income generated by blockchain networks can translate into lasting value for investors.
Arbitrum’s Revenue Model Offers a New Way to Evaluate Blockchain
Arbitrum was developed to make Ethereum transactions faster and cheaper. It processes activity on its own network before recording compressed transaction data on Ethereum.
The model allows developers to build applications using Ethereum-compatible technology while reducing transaction costs.
WisdomTree’s research, Arbitrum, a Licence to Build, examines how that technology is becoming a commercial product.
ArbitrumDAO generated $6.19 million in income during the first half of 2026, with a blended gross margin exceeding 97%, according to figures also published by the Arbitrum Foundation.
The network earns income from four sources: transaction fees, Timeboost auctions that prioritize transaction processing, treasury investments and technology licensing.
The first three reflect blockchain usage and treasury management. The fourth represents an emerging business model in which companies pay to build independent networks using Arbitrum’s technology.
Under the Arbitrum Expansion Program, companies operating qualifying networks that settle directly to Ethereum pay 10% of their net protocol revenue.
Of that amount, 8% accrue to ArbitrumDAO and 2% to the developer guild.
Networks built on top of Arbitrum One or Nova can use the software without this licensing obligation, although they still generate ordinary network fees.
This is importatnt for investors.
Rather than depending entirely on transaction volumes on its main network, Arbitrum can earn licensing income from businesses deploying their own blockchain infrastructure.
Robinhood Provides the First Major Commercial Test
Robinhood’s adoption of Arbitrum technology offers the clearest example of how the licensing model works.
The brokerage initially launched tokenized stocks on Arbitrum One in June 2025. It subsequently developed Robinhood Chain, a dedicated Ethereum Layer 2 network built using Arbitrum technology, which launched publicly on July 1, 2026.
WisdomTree’s research estimates that Robinhood Chain generated $4.37 million in licensing fees during its first ten weeks.
Approximately $3.5 million of that amount accrued to ArbitrumDAO.
That means one enterprise licensing relationship generated income equivalent to more than half of ArbitrumDAO’s entire first-half revenue.
The figures illustrate how blockchain software can produce revenue beyond conventional trading activity.
Operating a dedicated blockchain provides companies such as Robinhood a greater control over transaction fees, network performance, compliance arrangements and product development.
The arrangement creates a revenue-sharing relationship for Arbitrum without requiring the network to operate every application built using its software.
However, Robinhood’s early transaction activity benefited from subsidized fees.
The licensing business also remains dependent on securing additional enterprise customers.
Crucially, ArbitrumDAO’s income does not automatically become dividends for ARB tokenholders. Token valuations depend on governance arrangements, market demand and how investors assess the economic value of the network.
Swiss Private Banks Are Moving From Crypto Access to Commercial Opportunities
WisdomTree’s presentation comes as Switzerland’s banking industry moves further into digital assets.
In January, Bloomberg reported that UBS was preparing to offer Bitcoin and Ether trading to selected private banking clients in Switzerland.
The bank was evaluating potential partners, although the proposal had not been confirmed as a live service.
Other Swiss institutions have already established cryptocurrency businesses.
PostFinance launched crypto trading and custody in 2024. By February 2026, customers had opened more than 36,000 cryptocurrency portfolios and completed more than 565,000 trades.
The bank also expanded its offering to 22 cryptocurrencies, including Arbitrum’s ARB token.
Industry research indicates that around 20 Swiss banks now offer digital-asset services.
Some have established meaningful revenue contributions. Maerki Baumann reportedly generates more than 20% of its profits from digital-asset activities, while Arab Bank Switzerland attributes approximately 7% of its net profit to the business.
A September survey by PwC Switzerland suggests the industry’s motivation is increasingly commercial.
Among 25 surveyed financial institutions, 68% already offered cryptocurrency products. Custody and trading services were each available at 64%.
Growth, product expansion and client retention represented 87% of the main motivations behind blockchain initiatives, compared with 56% in 2025.
Innovation leadership accounted for just 5%.
The findings suggest Swiss banks increasingly view digital assets as a conventional business line requiring measurable financial returns.
Institutional Demand Is Growing, but Family Offices Remain Cautious
Demand from institutional investors is expanding, although actual investment allocations remain uneven.
An EY-Parthenon and Coinbase survey of 351 institutional investors found that 73% planned to increase digital-asset allocations in 2026.
The survey included private banks, family offices, asset managers and hedge funds.
However, respondents increasingly favored regulated investment structures. Some 66% reported exposure through cryptocurrency ETFs or ETPs, while 81% preferred registered vehicles for spot cryptocurrency investments.
For wealth managers, these products simplify custody, compliance and portfolio reporting.
Family offices present a more restrained picture.
UBS’s 2026 Global Family Office Report found that 24% of respondents held crypto, usually representing around 1% of portfolios.
Among those invested, 44% considered digital assets part of their strategic asset allocation.
A separate JPMorgan Private Bank survey found that 89% of family offices held no cryptocurrency exposure.
The surveys cover different investor groups but point to the same conclusion: institutional interest in digital assets remains considerably greater than the capital actually allocated.
This helps explain why blockchain business fundamentals may become increasingly relevant to investment committees.
Rather than treating every cryptocurrency as a potential price-appreciation opportunity, investors can examine the networks’ revenue sources, business customers, operating economics and competitive positions.
That approach, however, requires distinguishing a profitable blockchain ecosystem from an investment capable of delivering returns to tokenholders.
Tokenization and Institutional Infrastructure Are Expanding the Market
Several structural developments are supporting this shift.
Regulated investment products have reduced operational barriers to cryptocurrency exposure. Institutional custody services and greater regulatory clarity are making digital assets easier to incorporate into traditional financial platforms.
Meanwhile, stablecoins and tokenized securities are creating commercial applications that extend beyond cryptocurrency trading.
WisdomTree is participating directly in this market.
The asset manager reported that its tokenized assets under management were approaching $1.3 billion at the end of September, an increase of 65% year-to-date.
It has also introduced WisdomTree Onchain, combining tokenized funds, infrastructure and investment platforms.
Other traditional asset managers are pursuing similar opportunities.
Franklin Templeton’s blockchain-integrated BENJI platform supports tokenized money-market funds and related financial infrastructure. The firm reported $1.98 billion in assets across its BENJI suite in April 2026.
Yet institutional adoption is far from uniform.
PwC found that only 12% of surveyed Swiss financial institutions currently offered tokenized assets. Meanwhile, 58% cited low client interest as a barrier to blockchain adoption, and 46% identified regulatory or compliance requirements.
Can Blockchain Revenue Translate Into Long-Term Investment Value?
WisdomTree’s Arbitrum analysis introduces a different framework for assessing digital-asset networks.
Instead of relying primarily on market capitalization, token prices and trading volumes, the research examines revenue diversification, licensing arrangements, operating margins and enterprise adoption.
Robinhood’s contribution provides early evidence that blockchain software can generate commercial licensing income.
But the investment case remains incomplete.
High protocol margins do not necessarily imply high returns for tokenholders. Revenue concentration, transaction incentives, competition and token governance remain significant considerations.
For Swiss private banks and family offices, the next phase of crypto investing may involve evaluating blockchain infrastructure with the same financial discipline applied to conventional technology businesses.
WisdomTree’s presentation illustrates that emerging approach. Whether institutions ultimately allocate meaningful capital to such opportunities will depend on the durability of network revenue and the financial rights investors actually receive.
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