{"id":12641,"date":"2025-10-06T09:39:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/the-next-phase-of-onchain-finance-needs-regulatory-infrastructure-not-just-issuers-opinion\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T09:39:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:39:55","slug":"the-next-phase-of-onchain-finance-needs-regulatory-infrastructure-not-just-issuers-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/the-next-phase-of-onchain-finance-needs-regulatory-infrastructure-not-just-issuers-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"The next phase of onchain finance needs regulatory infrastructure, not just issuers | Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-disclaimer\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-disclaimer__icon\">\n            <svg class=\"icon icon-info\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#icon-info\"><\/use> <\/svg>        <\/div>\n<p class=\"cn-block-disclaimer__content\">\n            Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news\u2019 editorial.        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-disclaimer --><\/p>\n<p>The rapid maturation of onchain finance is bringing the industry to a crossroads. With the passage of the GENIUS Act and the ongoing momentum behind the CLARITY Act, the regulatory conversation is no longer about whether these systems should be regulated \u2014 but how. In this environment, the core challenge isn\u2019t how to launch another stablecoin. It\u2019s how to design infrastructure that can thrive within the rules.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_1f257cd90824a6ff3cbb1f8eab8cddb1\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The GENIUS Act sets narrow rules for fiat-redeemable payment stablecoins: licensed, 1:1 backed, redeemable \u2014 effectively digital cash, but limited in scope.<\/li>\n<li>Innovation is shifting outside this perimeter, with protocols that avoid fiat redemption, default yield, or payment claims \u2014 focusing instead on capital transformation infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li>The CLARITY Act reinforces this by distinguishing decentralized, non-custodial protocols from intermediaries, framing them as infrastructure rather than financial services.<\/li>\n<li>The future of onchain finance lies not in new stablecoins, but in protocol architecture: systems that embed compliance, collateralization, and programmability as rails for capital at scale.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The GENIUS Act<\/h2>\n<p>The GENIUS Act makes this distinction explicit. It establishes a licensing regime for fiat-redeemable payment stablecoins and bans the payment of interest to holders. This regime is clear \u2014 and intentionally narrow. It applies to digital assets intended for retail payments, backed 1:1, with guaranteed redemption. It\u2019s a framework for digital cash. But capital doesn\u2019t move as cash alone.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the innovation in onchain finance is now happening outside this perimeter \u2014 not in violation of the law, but by building where GENIUS doesn\u2019t apply. Protocols are emerging that don\u2019t offer fiat redemption, don\u2019t pay yield by default, and don\u2019t claim to be payment tools. Instead, they are designing systems where capital \u2014 whether crypto-native, tokenized, or fiat-linked \u2014 can be programmatically transformed into usable liquidity, under rule-based conditions. In other words, they are building infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The CLARITY Act<\/h2>\n<p>CLARITY points in the same direction. By proposing a legal distinction between digital asset intermediaries and decentralized protocols, it implicitly recognizes that not all systems should be regulated as custodians or brokers. Protocols that are credibly neutral, non-custodial, and not controlled by any single party may qualify as infrastructure, not financial services. The path to regulatory alignment may not run through product design, but through protocol architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Many recent protocol designs already reflect this shift. Yield is separated from base liquidity through opt-in mechanisms. Redemption is optional or unavailable. Collateral is enforceable, custody-ready, and often structured through legal wrappers. Access is segmented \u2014 with institutional channels operating under permissioned conditions while maintaining composability with open finance. These systems are built not just to function, but to integrate: they anticipate how capital needs to behave under regulatory and institutional scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where the market is headed. New capital-layer systems are emerging with a different design philosophy. They embed mint\/redeem logic that mirrors traditional collateralization. They provide rule-based interfaces that support capital transformation \u2014 from deposit to liquidity, from collateral to yield \u2014 without crossing into prohibited or regulated activities. They are infrastructure, designed to operate compliantly by default.<\/p>\n<p>They don\u2019t promise redemption. They don\u2019t offer interest. They don\u2019t operate as wallets or payment platforms. What they provide is programmable logic for capital transformation: a set of rails where assets can be onboarded, structured, and deployed into DeFi and institutional strategies alike. These systems aren\u2019t stablecoins. They are infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>This evolution reflects a deeper shift. As the onchain economy matures, the distinction that will matter most isn\u2019t between regulated and unregulated \u2014 it\u2019s between product and protocol. Issuers offer access. Infrastructure defines form. And it\u2019s in the infrastructure that the long-term utility of tokenized capital will be realized.<\/p>\n<p>Not in another dollar. But in the systems that make dollars \u2014 and everything else \u2014 usable, compliant, and composable by design.<\/p>\n<p>This is the next phase of onchain finance. It won\u2019t be won by better branding or tighter pegs. It will be won by architecture.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<div class=\"cn-block-author author-card\">\n<div class=\"author-card__photo\"><\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-card__photo --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-card__content\">\n<div class=\"author-card__name\">\n                Artem Tolkachev            <\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-card__name --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-card__bio\">\n<p><b>Artem Tolkachev<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a tech entrepreneur and RWA strategy lead at Falcon Finance with a background in law and fintech. He founded one of the first blockchain-focused legal practices in the CIS, was later acquired by a global consulting firm, and pioneered the region\u2019s first Big Four Blockchain Lab. Over the past decade, he has advised major corporations, invested in startups, and built ventures across blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and automation. A recognized speaker and commentator, he focuses on bridging digital assets with traditional finance and advancing the adoption of decentralized finance worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-card__bio --><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-card__social\">\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/artemtolkachev\/\" class=\"community-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" aria-label=\"LinkedIn\"><\/p>\n<p>    <svg class=\"community-link__icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n        <use xlink:href=\"#icon-social-linkedin\"><\/use>\n    <\/svg><\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/artemtolkachev\" class=\"community-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" aria-label=\"Twitter\"><\/p>\n<p>    <svg class=\"community-link__icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n        <use xlink:href=\"#icon-social-twitter\"><\/use>\n    <\/svg><\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-card__social --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .author-card__content --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- author-card --><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news\u2019 editorial. The rapid maturation of onchain finance is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12641"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12643,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12641\/revisions\/12643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}