Bridging Traditional Finance and DeFi: How Close Are We?

Exploring the Accelerating Convergence of Traditional and Decentralized Finance

Bridging Traditional Finance and DeFi: How Close Are We?

Nelli Zaltsman, a blockchain innovation lead at JPMorgan’s Kinexys, recently claimed that the divide between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) could disappear within the next few yearscointelegraph.com. She predicts that the gap between TradFi and DeFi will close sooner than many expect, thanks to rapid technological advances and growing willingness of institutions to collaboratecointelegraph.com. This report examines how true that claim is by analyzing three key areas: market adaptation, technological readiness, and societal readiness. We will also consider the steps being taken toward convergence and counterpoints from those who remain skeptical.

Market Adaptation: Institutional Adoption and Industry Trends

Traditional financial institutions and investors are increasingly bridging the gap with the crypto and blockchain world. Major banks and asset managers are actively experimenting with or adopting digital asset technology: for example, JPMorgan has piloted a system using Chainlink to synchronize settlements across multiple blockchains, demonstrating how a bank’s on-chain deposits can transact on different networkscointelegraph.com. JPMorgan also launched a deposit token (JPM D+) on a public blockchain (Base network) to give clients on-chain liquidity while staying within the bank’s regulated systemcointelegraph.com. These moves signal that mainstream finance is moving on-chain in a controlled, compliant way.