From DeFi to On-Chain Capital Markets: Building the Next Financial System

• Organizations that don’t embrace change will lose out, DRW’s Wilson says

• Binance sees huge convergence between web2 and web3, Tang notes

• “We have a paradigm shift in user experience and user expectation” - Yuval Rooz, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Asset

Traditional financial market participants are increasingly looking to explore and deploy blockchain technology, while crypto-native companies are raising their standards as they move into the realm of TradFi and start to become more closely regulated. 

The two spaces are taking the best practices from each other’s worlds, rather than one wholeheartedly embracing (and swallowing) the other. This process is going to shape the rest of 2026 as well, with equity perpetual futures, RWAs, tokenized collateral, and lending protocols being key areas of interest for investors and market participants alike.

“We see a huge conversion between the web2 and the web3 space,” Binance’s Tang said, noting that there has been a huge shift in the regulatory mood, which is allowing participants like Binance to get licensed in jurisdictions they’d previously struggled to thrive in. As a result, they can launch new products and introduce efficiencies in the market.

Panelists noted that DeFi has the potential to usher in new efficiencies and liquidity, alongside scope for on-chain settlement and asset mobility, with the aim of enhancing access, transparency, and programmability in capital markets. In this race to gain a competitive edge, those that fail to change with the times and the tech will struggle. 

“The biggest losers are going to be the organizations that don't embrace the change,” DRW’s Wilson said.

He added that US regulators are unlikely to tolerate some practices, such as auto-deleveraging, as he noted that the more favourable regulatory environment is already having an impact, with previously offshore exchange and participants moving back onshore. Meanwhile, TradFi companies are asking permission from regulators like the SEC to list crypto assets in an example of the two-way convergence that’s taking place. 

As part of that process, crypto is being forced to raise standards. MEV, for example, which allows some market participants to effectively “frontrun” other orders, is something that will likely prove unpalatable to both investors and supervisors, Wilson added.

“The SEC has a lot of rules in place. Some of them probably could be updated, but at the end of the day, the rules are designed to protect investors. If we adopt some of the things in the crypto space, I think that there is a risk of eroding investor protection and investor trust,” he said.

Canton’s Rooz highlighted that expectations are changing, both from end customers and those who service them. Users simply expect more: they want to trade  24/7, and they also want to be able to lend or borrow on their assets within similar time frames. 

“The exciting thing is the user experience paradigm shift we’ve seen is irreversible,” said Rooz. “What's happening now is happening at a much faster pace, and that's super exciting.”