TechFlow News, March 25: According to a BeInCrypto report, Stijn Vander Straeten, CEO of Crypto Finance—a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse—stated that traditional banks are at least five years behind in their engagement with decentralized finance (DeFi), and widespread institutional adoption may still take another five to ten years.
Vander Straeten noted that large financial institutions must wait for regulatory clarity before entering new domains—a structural delay that hampers their ability to compete with crypto-native platforms. The latter have already pioneered features such as weekend stock trading and instant settlement, exerting pressure on traditional finance. He added that a new generation of investors cannot accept the current norm where stock trades require two days to settle.
Vander Straeten also emphasized that banks’ core strengths lie in compliance and governance—areas where many crypto-native platforms still fall short. “Challenger platforms will always move faster on innovation, but large institutions will never enter prematurely when rules remain unclear.”
