Crypto’s next decade set to transform global finance
The future of finance will not be about crypto existing outside the financial ecosystem, but about digital assets and blockchain technology becoming fully integrated into the broader financial system as the market continues to mature.
President and COO of Crypto.com, Eric Anziani, told Investor Daily that as stablecoins and blockchain-based payment rails continue to mature, the long-term opportunity lies in building a more efficient and programmable payments layer for a digital, global and increasingly automated economy.
“The endgame is not simply creating a new asset class, but helping build a more efficient, more connected and more accessible financial system around it.”
While the terminology and buzzwords may evolve over the next decade, Anziani said the direction of travel is clear.
“Digital assets and blockchain technology are becoming more deeply integrated into the global financial system. The real story is not what we call it, but the role it will play in shaping the future of finance.”
“The underlying blockchain infrastructure is likely to become less visible to end users over time, but its role in enabling more efficient payments, settlement, custody and ownership will only become more important.”
Tokenisation, in particular, is emerging as one of the defining themes of the next decade. Anziani said it has the potential to enhance a broad range of asset classes by improving transparency, reducing friction and enabling faster settlement.
“We are moving toward a world where ownership becomes more seamless, portable and global … That does not remove the role of trusted institutions, but it does change what modern ownership can look like.”
While the transition will take time, Anziani said tokenisation is moving from concept to structural shift.
“The key benefit is that it will facilitate 24/7 trading and we expect fund managers and product providers to take full advantage of this to improve access for customers.”
He added that tokenisation will also reshape the role of banks, asset managers and exchanges over the next decade.
“Banks, asset managers and exchanges will increasingly be the institutions that provide trusted access, liquidity, custody, compliance and distribution across tokenised markets.
“It will also allow them to increase their product offerings, particularly by facilitating 24/7 trading and fractionalised ownership, which is a benefit to all investors, particularly retail investors.”
As tokenisation and stablecoin settlement reach scale, parts of today’s financial system could become obsolete. Anziani said the areas most exposed are those where inefficiencies have long been accepted as the norm, including delayed settlement, siloed ledgers, manual reconciliation and slow cross-border capital flows.
“Tokenisation and stablecoin settlement create the possibility of a system that is more real-time, more transparent and far less fragmented. As that scales, many legacy processes will start to look increasingly out of step with the needs of a digital economy,” he said.
Industry conferences also play an important role in bringing together policymakers, institutions, market infrastructure providers and digital asset firms to help shape the sector’s future.
“That matters because the most important themes in this sector are rarely shaped by one part of the market alone, they emerge through sustained collaboration across the ecosystem. A clear example is the work DECA and other industry groups have done around digital asset regulation in Australia, particularly the push for a fit-for-purpose framework built around the AFSL regime.
“That kind of coordinated engagement helped move the conversation from whether digital assets should be regulated, to how they should be integrated into the overarching financial system. The next cycle will be shaped by the same dynamic: less speculation, more practical reform and more focus on the infrastructure needed for real utility at scale.”
Reflecting on Crypto.com’s 10-year anniversary, Anziani said the past decade has been about proving digital assets have legitimacy and a place within the global financial system.
“What began as a fringe innovation has matured into a market defined by strong infrastructure, growing institutional participation and increasingly specific regulatory oversight,” he said. “The first decade established the asset class; the next will determine how tokenisation and blockchain infrastructure help shape the future of finance.”
He said innovations such as crypto baskets and access to tokenised US stocks point to the market’s next phase.
“This includes giving users and institutions more seamless access to a wider range of financial products through digital asset infrastructure.”
He added, “We increasingly see the long-term opportunity in crypto as a mainstream asset class – think about the popularity and liquidity of Bitcoin ETFs. But blockchain technology more generally is becoming part of the operating system for the movement, settlement and storage of value in a more digital global economy.”
