Control vs. Code - Issue #553 Tuesday, July 22nd 2025 12:00AM
The Focus
There’s a paradox quietly unfolding at the heart of fintech: the more institutional adoption crypto attracts, the further it moves from the very principles that made it disruptive.
At first glance, this phase looks like a triumph. Bitcoin ETFs are live. Crypto-native firms are joining benchmark indices. Asset managers are carving out long-term allocations. Regulations, once fragmented and hostile, are now clear enough to support structured participation. It all feels like a coming-of-age moment.
But integration isn’t neutral. In fact, it’s deeply political. Once crypto becomes infrastructure—used by banks, cleared by regulators, and governed by centralized entities—it ceases to be the counterforce it was designed to be. Control returns, not through prohibition, but through adoption on different terms.
The shift from protocol to policy brings tradeoffs. Decentralization fades in favor of scalability. Transparency bends toward compliance. Autonomy gives way to account freezes, user verifications, and jurisdictional constraints. What was once a decentralized, trustless ecosystem starts to resemble the financial architecture it meant to escape—only faster and programmable.
Fintech is at the center of this evolution. Companies like Block and Stripe aren’t just adding crypto features. They’re building payment and settlement layers that blur the line between digital cash and regulated asset. That unlocks scale. But it also reintroduces gatekeeping.
And here lies the real tension: when crypto stops challenging control and starts enabling it, what remains of its original thesis?
Read more in our Editorial:
When Crypto Becomes Infrastructure: What Institutional Adoption Really Means - FTW Sunday Editorial
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