Original Title: Crypto Convergence: How Closing the Exponential Gap in Finance will Upgrade Our World
Original Author: Rich Beeman, Medium
Original Translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Editor’s Note: This article reveals the arrival of a new financial era: the convergence of cryptocurrency, DeFi, AI, and social media is sweeping through traditional finance, driving a major transformation. As assets go on-chain, wealth shifts, and a new generation of investors rises, the global financial order is gradually being disrupted. Although the path to reform is fraught with challenges, the opportunities are unprecedented—those who dare to explore will stand at the forefront of this wealth explosion, leading the future.
The following is the original content (reorganized for better readability):
Currently, the hottest topic in corporate finance can be described as a "legend simmering slowly," with the story beginning in 2020 when Michael Saylor made a highly risky decision to completely pivot his publicly traded company MicroStrategy in a new direction. At that time, his "Bitcoin strategy" was seen as absurd by most of his peers.
A few years later, this so-called "Bitcoin strategy"—simply put, leveraging to buy and hold this mainstream cryptocurrency—has achieved remarkable results. Today, Bitcoin is targeting new highs, and MicroStrategy has outperformed all stocks in the S&P 500 index since implementing this strategy, even surpassing the hot Nvidia stock of 2024.
There is no denying that Bitcoin is steadily developing and is increasingly viewed as more than just a high-risk asset, while the overall landscape of the cryptocurrency industry is also expanding.
Top crypto venture capital firm a16z shared some impressive data in its latest "Crypto Industry Report." They estimate that the number of active blockchain addresses reached 220 million by September 2024, three times that of the end of 2023. Global cryptocurrency activity and usage have reached historic highs, with approximately 617 million people holding cryptocurrencies, accounting for over 12% of the global population aged 18 and above. Additionally, they provided a detailed analysis of why cryptocurrency has become a key political issue in the upcoming U.S. elections.
An increasing number of countries, such as Bhutan, Argentina, and El Salvador, are taking bold steps to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve currency and investing national resources in mining. Currently, several countries are researching their own Bitcoin strategies and proposing frameworks to support digital asset innovation, and even in the U.S., there is a growing bipartisan call for establishing strategic Bitcoin reserves.
Meanwhile, the "Bitcoin strategy" is gradually gaining attention in traditional finance, while a recent event in the crypto space has sparked a wave of discussion. A new meme coin on the Solana chain called Goatseus Maximus has rapidly risen, with its market capitalization soaring to $900 million within just a week. Behind this success is the market effect of speculative trading driven by AI agents through meme-like dissemination and social influence on the X platform.
This seemingly peculiar success story actually showcases how AI-driven narratives, DeFi liquidity, and social influence impact speculative markets, and even more astonishingly, it gives us a glimpse into a new frontier where finance, technology, and culture seamlessly merge, achieving unique "superpowers" through digital assets.
However, from these data and headlines, we can clearly see a larger cryptocurrency transformation—the global financial system is undergoing an unprecedented change.
Saylor stated in an interview, "The world will be reshaped, and finance is undergoing a digital transformation." While Saylor and many others still focus on Bitcoin, the world reshaping he refers to encompasses many significant changes that work in tandem with the traditional financial system.
In short, the digital transformation of finance goes far beyond Bitcoin, encompassing various forms of currency and assets, as well as diversified operations relying on advanced programming capabilities. For this reason, the cryptocurrency industry has prioritized the development of a vast amount of infrastructure over the past decade, with ambitious developers dedicated to building decentralized protocol networks capable of supporting complex applications and rapid iterations.
Recently, interest and investment from major institutions have pushed this innovation into new realms. Almost every day, major financial institutions around the world are taking substantial steps toward the integration of digital assets and cryptocurrencies. The speed and breadth of these changes are such that it is difficult to fully grasp their entirety, especially as the pace of this transformation continues to accelerate. Keeping up with every significant development has become nearly impossible, and it is increasingly challenging to capture the key points amid the flood of information.
However, from this noise, we should be able to see one thing clearly: we are at a critical juncture. Cryptocurrencies are rapidly entering their large-scale deployment phase and are about to reach a critical mass that will impact the global financial system. The cryptocurrency industry is maturing, gradually pushing the financial digital transformation that has been brewing for over a decade into the mainstream. However, the process of reshaping the financial system is extremely complex, which is why this transformation has taken so long to "warm up."
Currently, multiple forces are coming together to facilitate this turning point. What follows will be a true world-changing super convergence—at least three exponential technologies are colliding head-on with the traditional financial system: DeFi, AI, and SocialFi. These emerging technologies are termed "exponential" because they rely on the proliferation and application of foundational digital networks, driving accelerated growth through compound effects.
On a macro level, increased production efficiency lowers costs through cumulative learning (the Wright's Law), drives exponential growth in computing power (Moore's Law), and increased network participation brings greater value to all users (Metcalfe's Law). As these networks evolve, new subgroups form, unlocking more practical layers (Reed's Law). These compound effects interact to create a feedback loop of continuous innovation, accelerating development along an exponential curve—ultimately forming what Ray Kurzweil calls the "Law of Accelerating Returns."
In short, all of this indicates two points:
To push the outdated financial system into the 21st century, many factors must work in synergy;
The speed of future transformations will only increase.
Fortunately, the driving forces behind this convergence and innovation are not solely technological; there are also strong cultural and macro trends at play, such as demographic shifts, institutional adoption, currency devaluation, and global competition—this also explains why the update of the traditional financial system is almost a foregone conclusion.
At the core of this massive transformation is what I call the "exponential gap in finance"—borrowing a concept from Azeem Azhar in his 2021 book "Exponential Age." This exponential gap refers to the complex and wide chasm between traditional financial institutions and these emerging technologies. Understanding this gap is the simplest way to grasp the urgent need for upgrading the current financial system.
As a Web3 entrepreneur, the cryptocurrency experience over the past few years has been both exhilarating and perplexing. In re-examining the current financial environment and trying to understand why the financial landscape has seemed so chaotic in recent years, I have gradually clarified the deeper logic behind it all. For those who have been paying attention and investing in the crypto space, these years have been filled with a confusing regulatory environment, contradictory media narratives, and skepticism from traditional institutions. Not to mention the enormous volatility of emerging digital assets.
This is precisely the hallmark of the "exponential gap"—the difficulty traditional systems have in adapting to rapid technological changes. In this context, entrenched interests in traditional industries are actively obstructing this process. Nevertheless, we still find it challenging to clearly foresee the future direction. This transformation is particularly daunting because it must advance amid a global market that is in constant flux, without fundamentally reconstructing the entire financial system.
But like any major technological revolution, the gap of the exponential age will be bridged quickly and globally. This process will accelerate in the coming years as technological advancements and cultural trends drive progress, and the enormous benefits of reshaping the financial world incentivize active participation from all parties. This process, though chaotic, is unstoppable; it is "crypto convergence"—a transformation that integrates disruptive technologies to build, manage, and create wealth in entirely new ways.
It is this trend that forces traditional finance to rely on these powerful digital tools for self-evolution to maintain relevance. The traditional system can no longer ignore this transformation, as its infrastructure appears weak and incompatible in the face of these new financial realities. History has repeatedly shown that institutions that fail to bridge the exponential gap will be left behind by the times.
Global Turning Point
From the perspective of millennial investors, there has been almost no substantial innovation in how financial markets operate in our lives.
Aside from mobile banking and commission-free trading offered by Robinhood, there has been little to commend in terms of digital-native finance. In other words, the TradFi system has largely succeeded in resisting or absorbing any significant disruptions from new technologies.
The result is that wealth inequality and the devaluation of the dollar have reached unprecedented heights. By most standards, the economic situation of most millennials lags behind, while the "baby boomer generation" is the wealthiest generation in history. As of June 2023, despite making up only 20% of the U.S. population, they control 52% of the net wealth in the U.S. (Source: Yahoo Finance).
For cryptocurrency, this means that the past decade has been spent largely in the cold shoulder of TradFi institutions. Especially under the Biden administration over the past four years, the U.S. crypto market has been in a highly hostile regulatory environment, employing strategies like "Operation Choke Point 2.0" to curb the popularity and liquidity of crypto. China's stance has also been hostile, having fully banned the holding and mining of cryptocurrencies in 2021.
Yet, cryptocurrency continues to prove its value proposition, as emerging technologies develop and expand unaffected by the various measures taken by traditional institutions. Core believers leading the crypto movement are continuously doubling down, testing new uses, and pushing for the expansion of important functionalities.
All these top-level contradictions and the indifference in the market have left ordinary people unprepared. Most have yet to realize that we are on the brink of this technological convergence or understand the significance of building a faster, more transparent, and globally applicable financial ecosystem.
In the next decade, personal and professional finance will be significantly different from the past 50 years. The tide has turned toward crypto, and the events that follow will be determined by the speed of this convergence.
Closing the exponential gap in finance requires not only technological impetus but also substantial cultural support. This transformation is driven by profound cultural forces, including active institutional participation, intergenerational demographic changes, and unprecedented scale of global market competition.
Generational Shift: Millennial and Gen Z retail investors are more digitally native, skeptical of traditional institutions, and have embraced these emerging financial technologies. Their risk tolerance is higher, and they view speculative assets from a different perspective than previous generations. Data shows that four out of five millennial millionaires hold cryptocurrencies, while only 2% of traditional portfolios have exposure to Bitcoin. Nearly 60% of new investors report that they have invested in cryptocurrencies.
Institutional Adoption: Banks, asset management firms, and governments are integrating blockchain and crypto-native solutions to remain competitive. As Wall Street and TradFi attempt to stay ahead of the disruptive impact of crypto, this competition is intensifying. Stablecoins are almost entirely dollar-denominated, completing $8.5 trillion in transaction volume in Q2 2024, more than double Visa's $3.9 trillion during the same period. Companies like Microsoft and Tesla are also testing their Bitcoin strategies.
Global Competition: Countries and companies are realizing the global nature of crypto and the immense economic potential of leading in this transformation. Despite banning cryptocurrencies a few years ago, China now seems ready to lift the ban. BRICS nations are formulating plans to utilize digital currencies. Dubai has just announced acceptance of cryptocurrencies for real estate investments, while many countries, including the U.S., are advancing crypto-friendly policies. Sovereign Bitcoin mining is also becoming increasingly popular.
Currency Devaluation: The U.S. has entered an era of fiscal dominance, increasingly relying on government spending to drive the economy. The top 10% of households control 67% of total wealth, while the lower half of the population holds only 2.5%. The devaluation of the dollar exacerbates inequality. Global debt is approaching $100 trillion, and the issue of currency devaluation is becoming more severe, with countries struggling to cope with stubborn inflation caused by increased money supply.
These macro trends are driving TradFi institutions to continuously adjust their strategic allocations and future investments, leading to a growing number of compelling cases that are giving rise to exciting new enterprises. In addition to the obvious Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, there is also the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), which is expected to launch in 2026 with the goal of directly competing with the NYSE and Nasdaq.
TXSE has successfully raised $120 million from crypto-supporting companies like BlackRock and Citadel, aiming to build a brand new exchange from the ground up using cutting-edge digital technology. While specific details have yet to be announced, this new exchange in Dallas is likely to integrate crypto-native features—such as blockchain tracking, tokenized assets, and automated market makers—and position itself as a leader in the new financial landscape.
Robbie Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, has stated that blockchain is expected to fundamentally transform financial infrastructure. Especially when combined with some DeFi applications built around tokenized assets… If this vision is realized, we will have a more efficient, accessible, low-cost, and flexible financial system, rather than the traditional financial track.
One can imagine that a new U.S. stock exchange with crypto-native features would bring tremendous advantages, allowing many small and medium-sized companies to benefit from improved financing mechanisms and achieve faster capital flow in a blockchain-based 24/7 market.
Whether this vision will be realized at TXSE or not, the boundaries between DeFi and institutional finance are becoming increasingly blurred every day, and the foundation for deep collaboration has already been laid.
Three Exponential Forces Driving Finance Forward
As the crypto industry matures and becomes an important part of the global economy, discussions about it still seem very preliminary. Society needs updated mental models to more easily understand the complexities of the financial digital transformation we are experiencing.
"Crypto Convergence" provides such a framework, explaining in simple terms that traditional finance is undergoing an irreversible collision with at least three key exponential technologies—DeFi, AI, and social media—that will fundamentally reshape the financial landscape in the next decade.
Crypto convergence is driving a profound upgrade in the financial world, improving the way financial services operate while expanding opportunities for individuals and institutions. Combined with the aforementioned cultural factors, these forces are creating a new landscape that disrupts finance and accelerates the evolution toward a more open, efficient, and decentralized system.
From this perspective, crypto convergence can be likened to the "manifest destiny" of the financial reforms initiated in 2008. This grassroots movement, primarily driven by the Occupy Wall Street movement and the birth of Satoshi Nakamoto, is reaching a turning point, with the macro picture beginning to emerge.
In fact, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has directly described her proposed legislation—the establishment of a Bitcoin strategy reserve in the U.S.—as "our Louisiana Purchase moment," a significant event in achieving this manifest destiny.
In this metaphor, we can begin to collectively envision the Oregon Territory, viewing the West Coast as a logical direction for development. A grander vision is gradually becoming clear, and the dream of pursuing a fairer financial system is increasingly filled with hope over time.
This movement, which began with a historic financial collapse and the daunting task of addressing systemic banking issues, holding banks accountable, and protecting ordinary people's funds, has now evolved into a powerful force.
Just as the forty-niners and brave entrepreneurs sought wealth by pioneering the Wild West, it is the crypto "trailblazers" who are continuously forging new paths at the forefront of finance. These risk-tolerant rebels are paving the way for mainstream adoption in the high-risk realm of decentralized finance using unproven cutting-edge technologies.
DeFi is leading financial innovation by eliminating barriers and providing direct access to services such as loans, trading, and yield through parallel systems. Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum, such as Optimism and Base, have significantly improved scalability and reduced transaction costs, making DeFi more accessible. Scalable L1 platforms like Solana and Sui are also increasing accessibility and creating strong use cases for retail investors.
Meanwhile, projects like MakerDAO and Ondo Finance are bringing real-world assets (RWAs) such as real estate and government securities onto the blockchain, integrating billions of dollars in traditional assets. BlackRock has already tokenized treasury yields using its Ethereum-based BUIDL fund and has publicly stated plans to bring trillions of assets on-chain in the coming years.
At the same time, AI is transforming financial markets through automation and personalization. Robo-advisors and AI agents are rapidly becoming advanced, capable of tailoring portfolios to individual financial goals. We are even beginning to see AI agents being applied in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) or trusted execution environments (TEEs) as forms of experimental decentralized venture capital organizations.
AI-driven trading algorithms are reshaping most markets, executing trades at speeds beyond human capability by analyzing vast datasets, including sentiment trends from social media. Additionally, AI-driven fraud detection systems are helping financial institutions monitor transactions in real-time, identifying fraudulent activities more effectively than ever before. The iterative speed of large language models (LLMs) and other AIs is experiencing explosive growth, which cannot be underestimated.
But among all these driving forces of convergence, attention and computational power, regulatory frameworks, or platform capabilities are equally important. Social media is evolving into a ubiquitous, powerful "Swiss Army knife" for savvy investors and traders.
Platforms like Reddit, Discord, and X are at the forefront of SocialFi, organizing communities around shared investment opportunities, giving rise to meme stocks and now MEME coins. Popular memes like PEPE and BONK are driving network liquidity; they are not only financial instruments but also cultural assets that fuel ecosystem growth. Although slower than I expected, traditional finance is also moving toward digital management strategies, reaching out to retail investors.
Social media channels are also popularizing financial literacy, promoting community-driven investment strategies, and actively engaging users in decentralized governance through tokens on platforms like Uniswap. Decentralized social platforms like WarpCast and Nostr are also gaining attention.
Clearly, these summaries only provide a few high-level examples. More importantly, these three exponential technologies are increasingly overlapping, and their convergence is generating a powerful flywheel effect.
As Sam Altman described in 2021, crypto provides a mechanism of deterministic scarcity that balances the infinite abundance of AI, thereby providing constructive boundaries and constraints for the generative process. The decentralized power of crypto, combined with the democratizing power of social networks, will counteract the centralizing effects of AI. Today, a new trend on Crypto Twitter—AI agents launching MEME coins—is based on an intuitive understanding of these synergies.
In this cycle, many will realize that the combination of AI and blockchain is creating new opportunities for automation and decentralized markets. SocialFi will empower communities to engage around these opportunities, driving the emergence of more novel investment methods. AI will also continue to simplify DeFi processes and further expand community participation on social platforms in the future.
Each domain reinforces one another, accelerating adoption and driving innovation, unleashing the tremendous effects of the law of accelerating returns. The synergy of these technologies unlocks a super set of tools and capabilities, forming the interface that will take us into Web3.
This new paradigm empowers internet users to leverage network effects more effectively in an attention-driven digital economy. It aims to reclaim the internet from the monopolies of Web2, evolving toward decentralized, open platforms, which is a continuation of the internet's original vision. Web3 achieves this by distributing value to builders and core users at the protocol level, rather than concentrating wealth and control in the hands of a few corporations.
Although existing power structures will continue to resist these changes, the combination of these technological and cultural forces is driving the financial industry toward greater inclusivity, efficiency, and innovation. As the boundaries between traditional finance and crypto continue to blur, we are witnessing the birth of a new financial infrastructure that will unlock the future of currency and wealth.
Why Cryptocurrency is the Unifying Engine of Transformation
Although each of these exponential technologies is a core component of this transformation, it is cryptocurrency that serves as the engine making the integration of traditional finance and these technologies possible.
This is because blockchain provides a decentralized infrastructure that ensures trustless transactions, data integrity, digital identity, and secure asset ownership across all these domains. As ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood describes, blockchain is adding a "financial layer" to the internet, a layer that should have always existed.
The fundamental principles of cryptocurrency—open-source, permissionless, immutable, global, transparent, democratic, and censorship-resistant—ensure that new ideas can develop and scale without the friction of relying on outdated traditional systems with slow, centralized control. The integration of blockchain networks built on this philosophy, along with the fundamental mechanisms that make these ideas possible, is how a viable new financial layer for the internet is being established.
Importantly, the cryptographic properties of blockchain also provide key mechanisms for controlling AI malfeasance. As early as 2017, Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam stated, "Blockchain is the foundation for the life of AI." This is because artificial intelligence is a code-based entity that can exist on-chain within smart contracts. "On the blockchain, there is no distinction between AI and humans," is a profound observation from Fred.
In general terms, this seems to be correct. The Cambrian explosion of new synthetic life forms has arrived, rapidly controlling resources through the ownership of cryptocurrency tokens, allowing them to act in the real world. The blockchain infrastructure now supports not only interoperability between AI and cryptocurrency but also greater collaboration between social networks and digital finance.
This new financial layer based on blockchain networks unlocks the potential of Web3, where the interoperability and connectivity of these emerging technologies can merge into rapidly evolving financial innovations. Of course, the inertia of existing market participants, legacy systems, and policymakers still exists. Bad actors have not disappeared either. Although we are at a critical juncture in financial transformation, many of the rough edges of cryptocurrencies can now be abstracted, these issues still severely hinder the potential for cryptocurrency integration.
Mainstream narratives have consistently viewed the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies as reckless and unstable, sometimes even claiming that cryptocurrencies are scams. It is not difficult to fill a book with the numerous negative remarks made by leaders across various industries about cryptocurrencies over the past five years, such as calling them "rat poison."
Ironically, many of those who once spoke so vehemently against cryptocurrencies have now completely transformed into staunch advocates. However, as Federal Reserve official Kashkari publicly stated this month, "Almost no transactions occur in cryptocurrencies unless they are for drugs or illegal activities."
In fact, reality has never been as simple and binary as Kashkari and others believe. The facts emerging from the front lines of cryptocurrency today are far more complex than the sensational headlines, financial nihilism, and over-leveraged gambling suggest. Many innovations driving the digital transformation of finance are, in fact, heavily reliant on the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies.
This disruptive, countercultural force in society pushes boundaries and fosters patterns of accelerated technological innovation, which have been well documented in other industries. Notably, adult content has played a key role in the rapid development and adoption of many innovations that are now foundational to the media and entertainment industry. For example, streaming video, online privacy systems, mobile devices, and broadband internet.
Just as early Silicon Valley startup culture achieved breakthroughs through risk, today, the "casino culture" of cryptocurrency has become a high-risk testing ground for new financial tools, liquidity mechanisms, and governance models. Perhaps the most notable example currently is the cryptocurrency-based binary betting platform Polymarket, which is updating the standards for real-time sentiment analysis and mainstream political reporting.
Regardless of the stigma that cryptocurrency speculation continues to carry and the potential negative byproducts it may bring, the surprising fact is that speculation is a driving force pushing many industries forward.
Unlike the common perception that NFTs and memecoins are merely gambles on worthless trinkets, projects like high-risk DeFi and SocialFi experiments have actually spurred technological advancements. The speculative energy harnessed by the groundbreaking platform Pump.Fun serves as a stress test and catalyst for the development of the Solana ecosystem.
Don't believe it? These speculative activities are precisely the forces accelerating technological progress that will ultimately enter the mainstream financial realm.
In his widely watched speech at Token 2049, titled Memecoin Supercycle, Murad Mahmudov shared similar insights, stating that the crypto industry is "speculation first, technology second," and that tokens are the most important product. This principle explains well why memecoins, NFTs, and other speculative assets not only bring retail users into the crypto ecosystem but also drive breakthroughs in technological boundaries.
Smart money understands this, whether they are willing to publicly admit it or not. Why is almost every blockchain vying to have a top cultural token? Because these speculative activities are creating vibrant cultural zones at the forefront of cryptocurrency, where financial innovation is happening. Just like the early Boston area or Montmartre in Paris, these virtual frontiers attract pioneers, builders, and innovators who thrive in these high-risk environments.
In fact, although traditional financial institutions initially viewed cryptocurrencies as a pile of speculative "toys," they are now rapidly beginning to integrate these technologies into their systems. Venture capitalists and institutional investors are actively leveraging speculative behavior to create liquidity and drive the growth and adoption of their projects.
It is now difficult to deny that the rise of tokenized assets and blockchain financial products demonstrates how speculative markets are driving the evolution of global finance.
While blockchain infrastructure enables the ownership of digital assets and unlocks financial potential, speculative assets and trading also play a catalytic role in advancing and reforming finance. This is how cryptocurrencies are forcing institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity to adopt technologies that were once considered impractical or irrelevant, as well as advancing bipartisan legislative agendas.
Some fringe industries, often overlooked or demonized by mainstream society, are actually key drivers of technological progress. Just like the speculative cryptocurrency market, these industries incubate new ideas, drive rapid iteration, and refine technologies until they can achieve mainstream adoption. This interaction of experimentation and rapid iteration is crucial for driving technological advancement.
Although society is reluctant to acknowledge that the adult industry has propelled the media and entertainment forms we use today, blockchain innovation and the speculative cryptocurrency market are laying the groundwork for the future financial system. Just as Bitcoin and Ethereum were once seen as worthless nonsense, many technological advancements will continue to emerge at the forefront of cryptocurrency.
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity
The future of cryptocurrency integration is unpredictable, but we can assume it lies somewhere on a spectrum. At one end is a totalitarian nightmare, a world where crypto technology is co-opted by governments and financial institutions to expand centralized control.
In this scenario, the U.S. government and regulators would impose strict measures on altcoins and decentralized platforms, allowing only approved networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum to exist within a highly regulated framework. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) become tools for monitoring every transaction, effectively dismantling financial privacy.
This vision echoes the worst elements of a surveillance state like China, where innovation is tightly controlled and personal sovereignty becomes a distant memory.
At the other end of the spectrum is the liberal dream—a decentralized future in which the U.S. embraces crypto innovation and creates an open financial environment based on self-custody and digital sovereignty. Here, the government actively supports progressive policies, banning CBDCs and creating a business environment reminiscent of the early internet.
In this version of the future, cryptocurrencies fulfill their promise of financial freedom, empowering individuals and small businesses while shifting power away from traditional institutions. The ideals of the U.S. Constitution—privacy, autonomy, and freedom—are renewed and reinforced in on-chain governance and protocol-level decision-making.
However, the most likely outcome may lie somewhere between these extremes. In reality, most regulators and policymakers will not continue to aggressively suppress cryptocurrencies to the point of eradication. The game theory of Bitcoin adoption has officially begun, and nations, corporations, and financial institutions are gradually realizing they can no longer remain indifferent and are starting to accumulate crypto assets.
The U.S. will struggle to find a balance between innovation and control, as the government recognizes the necessity of remaining competitive in the global digital economy; on the other hand, financial giants like banks, asset management firms, and government agencies naturally wish to maintain control over critical financial infrastructure.
This mixed intermediate scenario may continue to be chaotic until a new balance is formed, a process that may take some time. Murad has recently made similar predictions, suggesting that things will get worse before they get better. He likens this chaotic transition period to the unfortunate Weimar Republic in Germany.
During this time, we may see certain decentralized elements, such as Bitcoin ETFs and blockchain-based clearing systems, gradually integrated into the mainstream financial system. However, these advancements are likely to coexist with regulatory requirements that limit the disruptive nature of DeFi and altcoins, presenting a disharmonious coexistence.
This gradual intermediate position brings many challenges but also new opportunities. Even under regulation, crypto projects will continue to drive innovation, finding niches where decentralization can thrive within a broader ecosystem. Technologies like zero-knowledge proofs, governance tokens, and dApps will help maintain the dream of financial sovereignty, even as institutions attempt to apply them to more traditional uses.
Ultimately, the outcome of cryptocurrency integration depends on how policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and voters shape this transition. In this complex environment, those willing to strike a balance between caution and creativity will have the opportunity to influence the direction of the next generation of financial paradigms. In this future, cryptocurrencies are neither fully controlled nor completely free—they become a battleground for progress.
Currently, a revolution driven by exponential technologies is dismantling old structures and potentially establishing more inclusive, efficient, and community-driven systems. As traditional finance increasingly integrates DeFi protocols, AI automation, and SocialFi ecosystems, we are entering a new era of democratized financial power.
This era of cryptocurrency integration presents a rare opportunity to build an alternative financial system that serves not only the powerful but also individuals, paving the way for a fairer future. But this requires forward-thinking strategies, courageous leadership, and broad community participation.
Changing the financial engine in mid-air is not just a metaphor—it reflects the reality that global markets must continue to operate while undergoing significant upgrades, highlighting the unfinished workload and the high risks involved in this process. Even though a considerable number of traditional financial firms, policymakers, and legacy service providers are becoming more positive about cryptocurrencies, it is impossible to "repair" the traditional financial system by shutting it down. Therefore, many complex parts of our financial system must seamlessly absorb these innovations under the numerous constraints of existing business cycles and practices.
This is precisely where the many pain points and awkwardness of the current state of cryptocurrency as an emerging industry lie, which is why this phase can be referred to as "adolescence." Although cryptocurrencies are experiencing many growing pains, this period is also when key leadership motivations begin to take effect.
The core question is: Can we collaborate to steer the future towards self-sovereignty, or will we allow ourselves to slide further into surveillance and control?
As cryptocurrency regulation gradually takes shape, recent events have shown us both possibilities. Efforts like the "Anti-Surveillance State CBDC Act" indicate a resistance to central bank digital currencies, reflecting concerns about financial privacy and government overreach. The bill has gained increasing support in Congress, signaling a desire to curb state-controlled financial surveillance.
Just this week, Pennsylvania became the latest state to pass a regulatory clarity bill for digital assets, known as the "Bitcoin Rights Bill." The bill passed with strong bipartisan support, with 76 Democratic members and 100 Republican members voting in favor. These developments suggest that if pressure is maintained, there is political will in the U.S. to resist a fully surveillance-oriented financial system.
However, this is a delicate balance, as traditional financial stakeholders, including large institutions and governments, continue to explore ways to control or regulate decentralized assets. As the U.S. and other major countries navigate the crossroads of cryptocurrency integration, the challenge lies in whether we can harness the momentum of these forces to promote individual empowerment or be swayed by the gravitational pull of surveillance infrastructure, defining the future of currency and finance.
Only time will reveal whether we can redirect the course of history towards personal freedom and self-sovereignty, or fall back into the old path of prioritizing security and convenience over ownership. Personally, I choose to be optimistic. There are significant stakes in the race for financial system reform, and first movers are likely to seize the creation of the next generation of wealth.
I agree with Murad's view that we will ultimately reach a "Belle Époque" again, a time characterized by social stability, economic prosperity, and cultural flourishing, all driven by tremendous technological advancements. Even if it means we must endure some difficult times.
In the next decade, the "exponential gap" in finance will largely be filled, and waves of cultural and technological innovation will relentlessly impact our outdated financial practices. I believe that by 2034, most significant opportunities will emerge, and the era of cryptocurrency integration will come to a close.
We will witness the transfer of wealth from the baby boomer generation to the millennial and Gen Z generations, with trillions of existing assets being tokenized. More of the global money supply will flow into top cryptocurrencies as people seek to escape fiat currency systems that weaken their economic power. I foresee the cryptocurrency industry gradually expanding, ultimately integrating the entire economy and financial sector.
This means that, just as digital news sources have made mainstream media their downstream, traditional financial institutions that do not evolve will eventually become downstream of crypto platforms. Similarly, the innovations occurring at the forefront of the cryptocurrency space today will ultimately determine the future direction of mainstream finance.
As renowned venture capitalist and writer Chris Dixon said, "What smart people do on the weekend, others will do during the week in ten years." Today, many 200 IQ geeks are spending their nights and weekends deeply engaged in the cryptocurrency space.
While frontier exploration is not for everyone, there are now many more passive and lower-risk ways to participate in cryptocurrency. Regardless of your role, those who recognize the potential of crypto and are willing to explore this intersection of disruption, creativity, and commerce will be at the forefront of the global financial revolution.
Keeping up with this trend is not easy, but it can change lives.
We are just beginning to witness how the convergence of AI, DeFi, and social media creates viral financial phenomena, accompanied by new wealth growth during this "Cambrian explosion." For those involved, the convergence of these forces and the digital transformation of traditional finance represent one of the most lucrative opportunities of our time.
DeFi has already replaced traditional gatekeepers, allowing anyone with internet access to lend and trade without intermediaries. AI is achieving higher levels of personalization and automation, streamlining financial processes and risk detection while opening up countless possibilities for innovative use cases of digital assets.
Social media networks and SocialFi platforms will also continue to redefine investment behavior, uniting around the most attractive cultural units and embracing decentralized governance models.
Yes, the economic incentives are indeed significant, but those who view "crypto integration" merely as a profit-driven endeavor have a narrow perspective—its core significance lies in a fundamental transformation rooted in the 2008 global financial crisis. The cryptocurrency movement born from that crisis is leading us toward a financial paradigm that prioritizes transparency and inclusivity, safeguarded from centralized manipulation through mathematical proofs.
The same institutions that triggered that crisis are now gradually recognizing the power of this movement, understanding that these disruptive technologies are an inevitable development rather than a passing trend. Moreover, the rapid advancement of exponential innovation means that the gap between traditional finance and the forefront of Web3 will close faster than many expect.
Unlike traditional finance, many of the best opportunities in the cryptocurrency space are open to anyone willing to participate.
We can all seize these opportunities and leverage new financial technologies to establish ourselves in future markets. Crypto integration provides a theoretical framework that identifies emerging areas of financial innovation while revealing new risks to avoid.
Those who choose to take action now—whether developers, investors, or entrepreneurs—will be able to take the initiative in this new paradigm and may even shape emerging systems at a foundational level.
Crypto integration is not just an economic trend—it is a multilateral movement for reform and reshaping global financial mechanisms. By decisively adapting to this change and embracing integration rather than resisting it, we will all benefit from one of the most significant opportunities of this era.
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