Standard Chartered Predicts $2 Trillion DeFi Surge

Core Insights - Standard Chartered's outlook indicates that stablecoins are not only disrupting traditional finance (TradFi) but are also laying the groundwork for a $2 trillion decentralized finance (DeFi) revolution by 2025 [2][5]. Group 1: Stablecoins and DeFi - The explosive growth of stablecoins in 2025 is reshaping TradFi payment networks and savings, while also triggering three key preconditions for a sustained DeFi boom: increased awareness in developed markets, necessary liquidity on-chain, and expansion of on-chain lending and borrowing [3][4]. - The convergence of stablecoins and DeFi is expected to drive significant growth in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), projected to expand from $35 billion today to $2 trillion by the end of 2028 [5]. Group 2: Market Projections - The stablecoin market cap is anticipated to grow from $230 billion to $2 trillion by the end of 2028, necessitating an additional $1.6 trillion of US T-bills to be held as reserves, which corresponds to all planned new T-bill issuance during that period [6]. Group 3: Ethereum's Role - Ethereum is emerging as a critical bridge between TradFi and DeFi, with the Ethereum Foundation launching an Institutional Use Case page to explain DeFi infrastructure and value propositions to traditional finance players, reflecting its growing importance in global digital finance [7].