Feb 15 at Consensus Hong Kong: Sui executives Stephen Mackintosh and Evan Cheng flagged 2025 as the “watershed year” for institutional crypto adoption, as institutional awareness of and demand for crypto asset allocations has surged since the Genius Act took effect. Mackintosh added that usage of the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) tool has jumped, spot Bitcoin ETFs have launched successfully, and major trading firms like Citadel and Jane Street have entered the space — all signs institutions are ramping up crypto infrastructure buildout and talent pipelines. Even as market sentiment has softened temporarily, he noted options trading volume hit a record high, with the structural growth trend intact and “institutional demand never stronger.” Cheng emphasized TradFi (Traditional Finance) and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) will merge, not compete, going forward. He noted traditional products mostly have T+1 or longer settlement cycles, while DeFi offers T+0 instant settlement — giving it a major efficiency edge. Through asset tokenization, investors can tap collateralized borrowing right after acquiring assets, allowing them to layer DeFi strategies on top of traditional exposures. Both executives also flagged tokenization and “agentic commerce” (AI-powered on-chain transactions) as key priorities in the next phase.
