The Sibos 2025 opening panel sent a clear message: public and permissioned blockchain networks are converging, and this convergence is beginning to shape the future of financial infrastructure.
Moderated by Applied Blockchain’s Adi Ben Ari, the discussion featured executives from Citi, the Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust, Ubyx Inc., and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. The panel explored how institutions are approaching open networks and why their adoption is accelerating.
Below is a simplified summary of the main information.
1. Public blockchains are now active markets
Tony McLaughlin began by reframing the conversation. Public networks like Ethereum and Solana are not experimental technologies. These are active locations where customers already hold assets and transact.
Institutions therefore do not choose between abstract systems. They decide whether they want to serve their customers on the platforms those customers already operate on. When banks see funds moving to exchanges or on-chain assets, it reflects customer demand for these environments.
2. Hybrid architectures are becoming the norm
Citi’s Biswarup Chatterjee noted that businesses increasingly operate under a model in which public infrastructure supports broad participation, while private, permissioned areas ensure trust and confidentiality.
He described these controlled environments as comfort zones. They enable institutions to maintain verified identity, privacy, and sensitive processes while benefiting from the reach of public ecosystems. Public and private are no longer considered separate technologies. They are part of the same system.
3. Public infrastructure has reached business maturity
Daniela Barbosa highlighted how enterprise adoption evolved as developers pushed for open systems and the benefits became clearer. Public networks offer liquidity, global access, and lower operational costs compared to consortium systems that require institutions to maintain their own infrastructure.
She also highlighted advances in interoperability and privacy technologies. Zero-knowledge techniques and confidential computing are rapidly improving, making public networks increasingly viable for regulated financial activity. Regulators and central banks are now actively involved in Linux Foundation working groups, reflecting a growing alignment between innovators and policymakers.
4. Redwan Meslem: neutrality, resilience and liquidity explain change
Representing the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, Redwan Meslem presented a concise framework for understanding why enterprises are turning to public systems.
Neutrality is important because private networks can recreate the closed silos that already exist in traditional finance. Public systems operate on shared, provider-neutral rails.
Resilience is demonstrated by the history of Ethereum. It has been operational for ten years, has undergone sixteen major upgrades, and successfully moved to proof-of-stake with no downtime. Because thousands of independent teams maintain it, the network has no central operator or single point of failure.
Liquidity is the decisive advantage. Market depth, settlement activity and composability already exist on public networks. Institutions seeking to optimize financial flows cannot recreate this environment on isolated private chains.
5. Layer 2 networks provide privacy and performance while preserving liquidity
Redwan also highlighted the practical change made possible by Layer 2 networks. Businesses can now operate in semi-private environments with higher performance and privacy controls, while remaining connected to the liquidity of Ethereum.
This creates a convenient avenue for regulated institutions that need privacy but cannot be isolated from the broader market.
6. User behavior attracts institutions to the chain
To show how expectations have changed, Redwan shared a direct example. He borrowed against ETH using a DeFi protocol at an interest rate of around five percent for a week to make a payment. The process took a few minutes.
This is why users are adopting decentralized finance. It is fast, flexible and programmable. Institutions react to this behavior rather than directing it.
7. Stablecoins and interoperability accelerate adoption
Daniela noted that stablecoins have become a functional form of tokenized currency and interoperability frameworks have improved enough to support multi-network connectivity. These two trends are driving companies more towards open ecosystems.
8. Wallets become the main user interface
The session concluded with a forward-looking observation from Tony McLaughlin. As tokenized money becomes more common across multiple chains, customers will interact through wallets rather than traditional bank accounts. Competitive advantage will shift to those who offer secure and versatile wallet experiences.
Conclusion
Throughout the discussion, the signal was clear. Public and authorized networks are converging. Institutions no longer debate whether to engage in public infrastructure. They determine how to participate while meeting compliance, privacy and customer expectations.
Ethereum’s neutrality, resilience, liquidity and maturity make it a central environment for this transition. Hybrid models combining public foundations and authorized controls will define the next phase of corporate adoption.
Public and private systems no longer move in different directions. They become part of the same global financial architecture.
