Since 2024, the DeFi (Decentralized Finance) ecosystem has entered a new narrative cycle: amidst the fluctuations of macro liquidity, the RWA (Real World Asset tokenization) boom, the expansion of L2 (Layer 2) technology, and the tightening of global regulations, DeFi is no longer an isolated crypto track but is forming deeper "intersections" with traditional finance (TradFi). This new round of restructuring, centered on technology, governance, and regulation, is quietly changing the underlying logic of global financial markets.
In recent years, the most criticized issue in DeFi has been the high on-chain transaction costs and inefficient throughput. The Gas fees on the Ethereum network have repeatedly surged during market volatility, deterring ordinary users from engaging with DeFi. However, now, with the maturity of L2 solutions (such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, etc.), more and more DeFi protocols are beginning to "sink" into Layer 2.
Recently, Uniswap announced the deployment of the Hook feature in its V4 version across multiple L2 networks, aiming to allow market makers and developers to build custom liquidity pools and automated strategies more flexibly. Established protocols like Aave and Maker are also competing for L2 users and liquidity through cross-L2 deployment, ZK technology, and modular scaling.
It can be said that L2 is not only a scaling tool at the technical level but has also become a new entry point for the expansion of the DeFi ecosystem. Low costs and high efficiency mean that more real-world assets (RWA) and off-chain yield products have the opportunity to be introduced on-chain, further enriching the use cases of DeFi.
If L2 addresses the usability and scalability of DeFi, RWA tokenization directly touches the core of the integration between DeFi and traditional finance.
Recently, Robinhood announced the launch of a Layer 2 public chain based on Arbitrum—Robinhood Chain—and is attempting to bring U.S. stocks, ETFs, and even private equity onto the chain through tokenization. This news has once again focused the market on RWA: a "real asset version of DeFi" composed of gold, real estate, bonds, and even carbon credits is becoming a new growth engine.
From traditional giants like Blackstone and Citigroup to emerging crypto players, RWA has become an important entry point for institutions entering the crypto market. Through smart contracts and on-chain settlement, DeFi has the opportunity to tap into massive real-world liquidity and provide compliant asset supply to DeFi protocols that have long been in a "crypto island."
However, RWA also brings DeFi face to face with regulation. Traditional financial associations in the U.S., such as SIFMA, recently publicly opposed certain crypto exchanges' applications for exemptions to issue tokenized stocks, highlighting traditional finance's deep-seated concerns about "tokenization potentially bypassing disclosure and registration."
No round of DeFi prosperity can forever avoid regulation.
Just last month, the European MiCA legislation began to be officially implemented, establishing a clearer compliance framework for stablecoin and crypto asset service providers for the first time. This not only provides legal predictability for RWA, DeFi, and stablecoins but also raises higher thresholds for projects that do not yet have complete compliance qualifications.
In the U.S., the SEC and CFTC continue to maintain a high-pressure stance on DeFi businesses such as crypto lending, staking, and liquidity mining. Leading exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken are simultaneously battling in court with the SEC while actively exploring feasible paths for integrating with RWA.
For developers, "Compliance-as-a-Service" has become a new business opportunity, with more emerging projects attempting to integrate compliance modules such as KYC (Know Your Customer), AML (Anti-Money Laundering), and tax reporting into smart contracts and front-end wallets. This attempt at "native compliance" may be an essential path for the DeFi ecosystem to evolve from "underground economy" to "legitimate finance."
It is worth noting that structural evolution is also occurring within the DeFi ecosystem. On one hand, blue-chip protocols represented by Uniswap and Aave are embracing more on-chain governance tools, such as voting rights delegation, income redistribution, and DAO treasury multi-signatures, in hopes of achieving more robust community autonomy; on the other hand, new concepts like Modular DeFi and Intent-centric Trading are becoming popular, attempting to allow ordinary users to achieve liquidity aggregation and yield optimization across multiple chains and assets without complex operations.
From "pure decentralization" to "conditional compliance," from "on-chain islands" to "integration with TradFi," DeFi is actively seeking change. Behind this is both real pressure and a deep awareness within the industry of the need for long-term survival and scaling.
In just a few years, DeFi has transitioned from the laboratory of anonymous geeks to financial applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, as macro monetary policy, RWA, L2, and regulation resonate in sync, DeFi is entering a more complex and pragmatic new stage.
It is no longer merely a romantic narrative of "decentralization," but has become part of the global financial system—a new infrastructure that could impact asset issuance, value transfer, and even cross-border settlement. In this race between innovation and regulation, those who can maintain openness while gaining legitimacy may occupy a higher position in the "new order."
For developers, investors, and regulators, this may be the most anticipated and also the most cautiously approached aspect of DeFi.
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Original article: “Reconstructing the DeFi Ecosystem: Innovation, Regulation, and the Battle for a New Order”
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