Record-setting filings for crypto ETFs signal true institutional entry, but only purpose-built infrastructure can keep that momentum and bring large amounts of capital onchain. When ETFs fuel institutional flows, social-driven dApps energize retail, and AI agents streamline onchain workflows, the result is a market that is deeper, faster, and culturally sticky.
The next phase of DeFi will be defined not by isolated yield aggregators but by modular asset-management stacks that institutions can operate end to end. For capital to flow, three conditions must converge: real-time verifiable data, seamless execution, and risk-aware underwriting that mirrors TradFi credit desks. Anything less leaves allocators blind to counterparty exposure and unable to size positions with confidence.
Institutional decision makers are no longer limited to crypto-native “prop shops”. The cohort now includes multi-strategy hedge-fund complexes, non-US banks running dedicated offshore crypto desks, traditional long-only asset managers like mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds and public pensions, insurance general accounts, endowments, foundations, etc. For these players, full onchain transparency is non-negotiable: live positions, liabilities, and vault-level allocation data must be queryable at block speed.
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