Author: Robin Nordnes, Co-founder and CEO of Raiku

Many die-hard supporters of decentralized finance (DeFi) believe that the future of institutional adoption will be driven by shiny, sky-high yield rates. The reality is that mainstream markets value consistency and reliability above all.

DeFi has opened the door for ordinary people to access financial tools that were previously only available to institutions. For the first time, anyone can invest funds in open markets from anywhere in the world. This is a significant advancement. However, the openness that makes all this possible also brings trade-offs. Decentralization gives us freedom, but it can also mean unpredictability.

Now is the time to bridge this gap. The next chapter of DeFi is to build systems that are as consistent as the applications we use every day. When cryptocurrencies become as reliable as Web2, it will invite the entire industry to shift on-chain. If we are truly going to bring the next billion users on board, this is exactly what we need.

DeFi has thrived on yield. It is the hook that attracts millions. The idea that your assets can earn money while you sleep is powerful, and it has indeed worked. However, yield only makes sense when the underlying foundation remains stable. If execution is unpredictable, the numbers on the screen are just an illusion.

Retail investors may overlook this, but the world we are trying to attract will not. Institutions, funds, and enterprises care about precision; they will not build on an unstable foundation. The final piece of the puzzle is to make crypto applications as consistent and predictable as the Web2 applications we trust and use every day.

In 2020, it was predicted that mass adoption of DeFi would occur between 2023 and 2025.

Now, as 2025 approaches, it is clear that we are only slightly closer to that goal than we were back then. As cryptocurrencies gradually become more significant in the broader financial landscape, we need to accurately recognize the risks that institutions are wary of.

Yes, DeFi has grown, and yields are attracting the attention of ordinary investors. But we cannot expect institutions to join simply because of a promise of a 5% yield, especially when it comes with the risk of system collapse.

As decentralized markets evolve and strive to become institutional-grade systems, reliability, predictability, and certainty will define the next wave of DeFi.

Let’s look at Solana. Currently, it is fast, consistent, and continuously improving. Most users rarely encounter issues anymore. However, when you start operating at an institutional scale, running automated liquidation strategies or processing thousands of transactions per minute, "almost" is not enough. For hedge funds or exchanges, a single failed transaction can disrupt an entire day’s reporting or alter millions of dollars in risk.

Retail users have already trusted Solana. Institutions are next. They need certainty. They need to know that when they hit "execute," it will happen immediately and perform exactly as expected.

Reliability is key to transforming cryptocurrency from an experiment into an economy; without it, institutions will not be attracted. Of course, institutional participants care about annual yields of 5%, 10%, or even 20%, but they care more about 100% reliability.

Funds, exchanges, and banks can manage billions in assets, and if any issues arise, they must be accountable to clients, governments, and the global financial industry. Why take reputational risks on a system that has proven to be error-prone? Institutions considering using DeFi rails need precision, execution guarantees, and predictable latencies. When you are trying to bring a significant portion of the world’s GDP on-chain, speculative returns become less important.

More important than speed, we need certainty. Certainty in execution means knowing exactly when your transaction will be processed and how it will perform once completed. It creates a fair competitive environment where everyone, from traders to institutions, can have the same confidence they have come to expect from traditional systems.

The missing piece for mass DeFi adoption is not providing more speculative incentives for hopeful holders, but maintaining stable reliability under pressure. When networks can guarantee inclusivity and precision, and when validators are rewarded for uptime rather than speculation, DeFi will no longer be a gamble but will begin to become infrastructure.

DeFi has evolved in cycles. First came liquidity mining, then scaling, then protocol-owned liquidity, and now real-world assets (RWA). Each wave has brought innovation and capital. But none have fully opened the door for institutions. The next cycle will.

The new era of DeFi will not be about chasing annual yields but about who can deliver predictable results at internet speed. The winners will be those who make DeFi boring in the best way: stable, fast, and precise.

Author: Robin Nordnes, Co-founder and CEO of Raiku

Related: Ethereum Foundation Reforms Funding Program Under New Funding Approach

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Original: Opinion: DeFi Needs Higher Certainty, Not Higher Yields

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