Opinion by: Kevin Rusher, founder of RAAC
Crypto is a movement born from a cultural rejection of traditional finance, driven by the belief that transparency, decentralization and code can build a better financial system than the one that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Indeed, for many, the creation of Bitcoin was a rebellion against the traditional financial gatekeepers that siphoned all value out of the market.
That foundational spirit still matters for crypto, but the landscape has changed drastically after 15 years. Today, BlackRock is the second-largest holder of Bitcoin (BTC), beaten only by its founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. At the same time, almost every major traditional asset manager has some interest in the industry through BTC, Ether (ETH) and real-world assets (RWAs) like tokenized private credit and treasuries.
The exception, however, is the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. While designed to facilitate universal financial freedom, extreme degen culture, memecoins and unsustainable hype loops mean DeFi still looks a lot like a casino to most outsiders.
In this new crypto climate, it is time for DeFi to change its image, and a large part of this mission lies in acknowledging that the institutions it was designed to be an antidote to are, in fact, a vital part of its growth journey.
Trust in crypto is still lacking
Institutions have been slowly edging their way into crypto for several years. The launch of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) felt like a turning point. Now at $70 billion in assets under management (AUM), the fastest ETF growth ever seen, BlackRock’s bet paid off.
Despite this, crypto continues to suffer from a lack of trust. According to recent data, 38% of non-crypto owners say they’ll never invest in the asset class due to its volatility and lack of access. In the US, crypto adoption remains below where it was in 2022, at 28% vs. 33% in the year that the Terra collapse wiped $60 billion from crypto’s market cap overnight.
Subsequently, 63% of Americans don’t trust current crypto investment products.
This lack of trust in crypto is a serious problem. This is particularly the case in DeFi, where trust is perhaps lowest, thanks not least to the events of 2022, but where memecoin scams and hacks are still frequent. This trust issue must be solved, which requires stability, structure and liquidity.
What “suitcoiners” bring to the DeFi table
This is where Wall Street and its new crypto advocates — dubbed “suitcoiners” — can bring real value to DeFi. While many crypto-natives are fiercely against these institutional investors and government-aligned players coming into crypto, they are beginning to build meaningful onchain capital.
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In no sector is this more evident than in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), whose market capitalization has just exploded past $24 billion, up from $11.5 billion in June 2024, and showing upside throughout the geopolitical instability that has sent other markets red during the period.
Incredibly, private credit — a relatively stuffy, elitist traditional finance (TradFi) asset class — leads all onchain RWAs with a 58% market share, followed by tokenized US Treasurys at 34%. And this growth shows no sign of slowing, with VanEck predicting that RWAs will surpass $50 billion by the end of 2025.
Tokenized RWAs are an enormous gateway for Wall Street into decentralized finance. Traditional assets bring familiarity, lower volatility and stronger collateral design, easing the transition from TradFi to DeFi for wary investors.
Significantly, hype, influencers or memecoin mania haven’t driven this surge. The suitcoiners are dipping their toes into crypto and DeFi to take advantage of its open infrastructure, increased liquidity and ease of trading. And this flow of capital is exactly what DeFi needs to thrive and grow.
DeFi’s coming of age
DeFi is finally meeting the standards institutions need and expect. The sector offers a cleaner user experience, compliance-ready frameworks and stable, programmable returns that often outperform traditional financial benchmarks.
A recent report by Artemis and Vaults confirms the shift. While most investors are simply looking at price charts, DeFi is quietly becoming the financial back end for institutional players. The report identifies “invisible DeFi” as a rising trend: Protocols like Morpho, Spark and Aave are embedding yield directly into fintech apps, exchanges and wallets, removing the complexity of DeFi for the end-user. With the help of these smooth integrations, in June 2025 alone, collateralized lending platforms surpassed $50 billion in total value locked (TVL).
Another example is Coinbase’s credit business. Through this initiative, Coinbase has issued over $300 million in BTC-backed loans, all onchain, and most non-native users would never even know blockchain is involved.
Regulation, clarity, liquidity and growth
DeFi is now ready for institutions. And, when combined with clearer regulation and real policy shifts, a bridge between TradFi and DeFi looks more like an opportunity to take advantage of than a threat to DeFi’s existence.
That doesn’t mean the suitcoiners get to dictate the terms, though. If institutions adopt blockchain technology through centralized and permissioned systems, it will be nothing more than TradFi in a different outfit.
The next — and most important — step is to ensure DeFi can coexist with the suitcoiners on equal terms, with the sector remaining true to the principles of decentralization it was built on but open to collaboration and evolution.
The DeFi ecosystem will inevitably look more serious if institutional involvement is embraced. There will be fewer overnight millionaires and more compliance to adhere to, but this is the only way to build a system that doesn’t collapse every time a tweet goes viral. If embracing suitcoiners guarantees a prosperous future for DeFi, then it’s certainly worth it.
Opinion by: Kevin Rusher, founder of RAAC.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.