Coin Bureau|21. Mai
The Secret Battle Between Crypto And TradFi Is Ending
The Secret Battle Between Crypto And TradFi Is Ending
Crypto is 'eating TradFi's lunch'. This is primarily driven by tokenized Real World Assets (RWAs), which are rebuilding the core architecture of Wall Street on crypto rails.
Explosive Growth of RWAs
- Total Market Cap: According to CoinGecko, the market cap of tokenized RWAs has more than tripled since the start of 2025 – from $5.4 billion to $19.3 billion (a 256% surge).
- This growth occurs while the broader crypto market has been quite stagnant.
The Broad Range of Tokenized Assets
- Tokenized Stocks: Enable borderless, 24/7 trading of traditional stocks like Apple or Tesla. Market cap grew from $2 million to $486 million.
- Tokenized Treasuries: Make the safest investment vehicle more accessible and tradable 24/7. Market cap rose from $4 billion to nearly $13 billion (+225%).
- Tokenized Commodities: Up roughly 290%, driven largely by tokenized gold. Spot trading volume for tokenized gold hit $90 billion in Q1 2025 alone.
- RWA Perpetual Futures: Reached a trading volume of over $524 billion in Q1 2025, a new record.
- Pre-IPO Trading: Platforms like BitGet and Hyperliquid now allow anyone with a wallet to speculate on valuations before companies go public – a previously exclusive VC domain.
The Transfer of Power: Crypto Absorbs Infrastructure
- Buying from the Inside Out: The crypto exchange Bullish has an agreement to acquire Equinity (a leading transfer agent for over 2,500 companies) for $4.2 billion. Crypto is buying the 'plumbing' of the financial system.
- TradFi as Frontend, Crypto as Backend: The future appears to be one where TradFi provides the familiar interface, while crypto becomes the settlement layer, record-keeper, and underlying infrastructure.
- 24/7 Markets are No Longer a Luxury: The fundamental flaw of TradFi (closed markets) is exposed by 24/7 global events. Crypto offers a superior solution for efficient price discovery.
The Role of Stablecoins as the New Monetary Layer
Stablecoins are the glue of this new system, already being used by the biggest fintechs for real settlement.
- Visa: Launched a stablecoin payout pilot reaching a $7 billion annualized run rate. Supports nine blockchains.
- PayPal: Launched its own stablecoin PYUSD, now with a market cap over $3 billion.
- Stripe: Acquired stablecoin infrastructure layer Bridge for $1.1 billion.
- Advantages: Stablecoins are available 24/7, borderless, programmable, and settle in minutes/seconds instead of days.
- BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Believes that everything will be tokenized. The world's largest asset manager sees finance moving on-chain.
- Not a Hostile Takeover, but Absorption: TradFi won't disappear, but its infrastructure is being rebuilt on crypto rails. Crypto becomes the foundation the system runs on, not the rebellious alternative.
- The biggest opportunities in crypto are currently in the RWA sector.
