Opinion: The core narrative of the crypto industry is shifting from volatility trading to financial infrastructure layers

BlockBeats News, December 29, WeFi co-founder and CEO Maksym Sakharov stated that the core narrative of the crypto industry is shifting from price volatility and trading volume to corporate balance sheets and financial infrastructure layers. True adoption does not come from retail investors, but rather when CFOs and risk control teams begin to approve stablecoin settlements and tokenized assets.

Sakharov pointed out that the key changes over the past 12–18 months include: the maturity of compliant custody, and clearer accounting and regulatory frameworks. Stablecoin regulation (such as the GENIUS Act, MiCA), the SEC's shift towards "participatory regulation," and the Basel Committee's reassessment of banks' digital asset capital requirements have, for the first time, provided enterprises with the practical conditions for "compliant on-chain" operations.

At the application layer, tokenized government bonds and money market funds have crossed the critical threshold. JPMorgan has settled transactions on Solana, Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon are jointly advancing tokenized funds, and BlackRock's BUIDL fund is already operational. Sakharov believes that tokenization does not disrupt the market, but rather upgrades the settlement system—reducing settlement times from several days to just a few minutes, lowering costs, and connecting global capital.

In terms of stablecoins, this year they have processed payment volumes exceeding $9 trillions, with a market capitalization of about $309 billions. Sakharov bluntly stated that stablecoins have become an issue of financial stability rather than a "crypto fringe," and that regulation has shifted from "blocking" to "standardizing," essentially acknowledging their unignorable systemic impact.