By Taylor & Francis
Experts argue the convergence of traditional and decentralised finance is breaking down barriers to financial access worldwide.
Image: Kamal Uddin - Unsplash
The convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi) is fundamentally reshaping global banking and democratising access to financial services.
This convergence is creating unprecedented opportunities for those previously excluded from the formal financial system, such as those living in remote regions.
According to finance experts, tokenisation – the digital representation of real-world assets on blockchain networks – is emerging as a bridge between established financial institutions and decentralised infrastructure, paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient financial ecosystem that operates at the speed of the internet.
These emerging possibilities are laid out by experts in The New Intersection of Money: Where DeFi & TradFi Converge, authored by Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money20/20, and her colleagues at the fintech events firm.
In emerging economies where basic access to financial services remains out of reach for many, DeFi is providing essential infrastructure. The book cites the case of Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud in rural Syria, whose farm was restarted after 14 years of conflict through a cryptocurrency payment via a plastic card that instantly provided approximately 500 dollars in relief.
“DeFi shines in areas with low trust in centralised entities,” the authors note. “Digital assets evolved from experimental curiosity to essential financial infrastructure. The most profound impact of DeFi lies in continuing humanity’s oldest financial purpose: finding new routes when existing systems create too much friction.”
Tokenisation is also fundamentally altering access to investment opportunities that were once the exclusive preserve of the ultra-wealthy. Private equity investments traditionally requiring millions of dollars in minimum commitments can now be accessed for a few thousand dollars through tokenised securities.
The financial implications are substantial. Tokenised real-world assets, once considered a fringe financial experiment, are now projected to reach between $10 trillion and $16 trillion in market value by the end of this decade.
“This growth is not mere speculation but driven by a calculated migration of traditional assets like real estate, bonds, and private equity onto the blockchain,” the authors state. “that is impact. That is scale.”
This is because the convergence of traditional banking and digital technology addresses a fundamental disconnect between consumer expectations and the limitations of traditional banking infrastructure.
Research indicates that 83% of Gen Z prefer digital-first financial services, with 78% having one bank account and 66% using mobile apps as their primary form of banking.
“New generations accustomed to instant messaging, on-demand services, and global digital platforms began to question why moving money remained slow, opaque, and expensive,” the authors observe. “The demand was not simply for cheaper transactions but for time compression – money needed to move at the speed of the internet.”
“Finance is not moving onto blockchains because it wants to be modern,” the analysts explain. “It’s doing so because programmable settlement, tokenised collateral, and always-on liquidity solve problems that have existed for decades and grown intolerable at a global scale.”
By 2030, experts suggest consumers will see money will move as easily as streaming data: instant, continuous and operating year-round.
“This is not a race to declare winners or losers,” the authors say. “It is the global financial system doing what it has always done when confronted with new infrastructure: adapting, standardising, and quietly deciding what gets to last.”
The book draws on insights from Money20/20’s global platform, which brings together executives from established financial institutions, blockchain developers, DeFi protocol creators and regulatory authorities.
As regulatory frameworks mature across the world, the experts suggest that the debate about whether DeFi belongs in the formal financial system has effectively ended. The question now is how quickly institutions can adapt to capture the efficiencies that these technologies enable – and whether they can do so while maintaining the trust and stability that underpin the global financial system.
“The future of finance isn’t coming. It’s already clearing,” the authors conclude.
This post was originally published on Taylor & Francis Newsroom and republished here with permission.
Reviewed by Irfan Ahmad.
Read next:
• Should You Accept Internet Cookies? BU Researchers Say the Open Web Could Suffer Without Them
• Your phone screen doesn’t have the same color range as the human eye – and AI widens the gap between digital images and the real thing
Experts argue the convergence of traditional and decentralised finance is breaking down barriers to financial access worldwide.
The convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi) is fundamentally reshaping global banking and democratising access to financial services.
This convergence is creating unprecedented opportunities for those previously excluded from the formal financial system, such as those living in remote regions.
According to finance experts, tokenisation – the digital representation of real-world assets on blockchain networks – is emerging as a bridge between established financial institutions and decentralised infrastructure, paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient financial ecosystem that operates at the speed of the internet.
These emerging possibilities are laid out by experts in The New Intersection of Money: Where DeFi & TradFi Converge, authored by Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money20/20, and her colleagues at the fintech events firm.
Breaking down barriers to financial access
The convergence of new and old is particularly impactful beyond developed markets.In emerging economies where basic access to financial services remains out of reach for many, DeFi is providing essential infrastructure. The book cites the case of Hala Mahmoud Almahmoud in rural Syria, whose farm was restarted after 14 years of conflict through a cryptocurrency payment via a plastic card that instantly provided approximately 500 dollars in relief.
“DeFi shines in areas with low trust in centralised entities,” the authors note. “Digital assets evolved from experimental curiosity to essential financial infrastructure. The most profound impact of DeFi lies in continuing humanity’s oldest financial purpose: finding new routes when existing systems create too much friction.”
Tokenisation is also fundamentally altering access to investment opportunities that were once the exclusive preserve of the ultra-wealthy. Private equity investments traditionally requiring millions of dollars in minimum commitments can now be accessed for a few thousand dollars through tokenised securities.
The financial implications are substantial. Tokenised real-world assets, once considered a fringe financial experiment, are now projected to reach between $10 trillion and $16 trillion in market value by the end of this decade.
“This growth is not mere speculation but driven by a calculated migration of traditional assets like real estate, bonds, and private equity onto the blockchain,” the authors state. “that is impact. That is scale.”
Meeting consumer expectations
The convergence does not just benefit financial entrepreneurialism but the end users – the people using banking apps, making payments and spending their wages every day.This is because the convergence of traditional banking and digital technology addresses a fundamental disconnect between consumer expectations and the limitations of traditional banking infrastructure.
Research indicates that 83% of Gen Z prefer digital-first financial services, with 78% having one bank account and 66% using mobile apps as their primary form of banking.
“New generations accustomed to instant messaging, on-demand services, and global digital platforms began to question why moving money remained slow, opaque, and expensive,” the authors observe. “The demand was not simply for cheaper transactions but for time compression – money needed to move at the speed of the internet.”
The future of finance
Industry experts expect traditional finance and decentralised finance to continue to converge in a stepwise manner, as it continues to solve long-standing problems.“Finance is not moving onto blockchains because it wants to be modern,” the analysts explain. “It’s doing so because programmable settlement, tokenised collateral, and always-on liquidity solve problems that have existed for decades and grown intolerable at a global scale.”
By 2030, experts suggest consumers will see money will move as easily as streaming data: instant, continuous and operating year-round.
“This is not a race to declare winners or losers,” the authors say. “It is the global financial system doing what it has always done when confronted with new infrastructure: adapting, standardising, and quietly deciding what gets to last.”
The book draws on insights from Money20/20’s global platform, which brings together executives from established financial institutions, blockchain developers, DeFi protocol creators and regulatory authorities.
As regulatory frameworks mature across the world, the experts suggest that the debate about whether DeFi belongs in the formal financial system has effectively ended. The question now is how quickly institutions can adapt to capture the efficiencies that these technologies enable – and whether they can do so while maintaining the trust and stability that underpin the global financial system.
“The future of finance isn’t coming. It’s already clearing,” the authors conclude.
This post was originally published on Taylor & Francis Newsroom and republished here with permission.
Reviewed by Irfan Ahmad.
Read next:
• Should You Accept Internet Cookies? BU Researchers Say the Open Web Could Suffer Without Them
• Your phone screen doesn’t have the same color range as the human eye – and AI widens the gap between digital images and the real thing
