Investment banks are faced at a pivotal moment – which could define their role in the financial markets for the decades to come. The catalyst is a new radical roadmap published by the president’s working group on the digital asset markets, describing how the United States foresees “inaugurating the golden age of the crypto”.
With the firm support of the Trump administration, the report presents a bold path to the integration of blockchain, stablecoins and decentralized finances (DEFI) in the basis of the country’s financial infrastructure. For investment banks, Washington’s signal is now clear: digital assets are no longer niche, they are a policy.
The report of July 30, mandated by the executive decree of President Trump 14178, is part of a broader thrust to make America “the capital of the cryptographic world”. It requires both legislative action and immediate regulatory changes.
Salman Banaei, Advocate General of Plume and former Special Special Advisor of the SEC, described the report as a clear validation of the ongoing efforts to modernize the capital market infrastructure.
“A bipartite consensus in the United States and more and more other countries recognize the power of open blockchains to support the export of their currency and their capital markets,” he told Traders magazine.
Banaei said that the report aligns with the objectives that his business and others recommended for a long time, stressing the importance of compliance, security and transparency in the staging of capital markets.
The exhort report of regulators such as the SEC and the CFTC to use their existing authorities to create flexible routes for institutions to register, offer custody, commercial assets and experience new financial products under Safe Harbor or Sandbox structures. It also encourages Congress to extend the jurisdiction of the CFTC to cover the markets of non -security assets and adopt laws welcoming DEFI in the regulated financial system.
For Wall Street, these recommendations could reshape the dynamics of the market deeply. The report suggests allowing more integrated commercial models vertically, a nod to the rationalized architecture of blockchain networks. This means that brokers, investment advisers and exchanges could soon combine roles in a way that reflects the operation of DEFI protocols. For investment banks, this could erode long -standing structural barriers and introduce new forms of competition.
As Banaei noted, the recommendation of the PWG could allow the investment banks recorded as a broker to “move upstream in the exchange and other financial services”, reflecting the integrated models vertically seen in the Defi protocols.
Banaei explained that previous administrations focused strongly on risks – hacks, disturbance and fear of change – which prevented investment banks from adopting new technologies from the blockchain of new fintechs, in particular open. “The last administration set on fear … The PWG report changes this dynamic. It opens the door to investment banks to adopt the same blockchain infrastructure that has propelled Defi and to compete,” he said.
According to Banaei, some banks are already advancing. JP Morgan’s partnership with Coinbase reflects a growing desire among the big banks to collaborate with crypto-native companies. The withdrawal of the restrictive DSA directives like SAB 121, combined with new recommendations on capital rules based on risks for digital asset activities, hiding a path for more of these partnerships, he said.
Tokenization, stablecoins and race to modernize
Roy Ben-Hur, Managing Director and Leader of Digital Assets Financial Services at Deloitte, has noted that investment banks actively discuss how tokenization could rationalize access to investment products such as money market funds and private investments. “There is also an increasing interest in the way blockchain can help develop participation in new asset classes, such as the tokenized actions of private companies,” he said.
Ben-Hur stressed that many banks focus on alignment of product planning and risk management on the development of regulatory expectations while finishing operational gaps in KYC, LMA, monitoring of transactions and staff training.
As Ben-Hur observed, investment banks have started to accelerate strategy conversations around tokenization as a means of rationalizing access to investment products and modernizing internal processes. Likewise, Stablecoins gain ground in institutional planning, not only for cryptographic transactions, but as an infrastructure to improve cross -border payments and replace aging settlement systems.
Duane Block, which directs the work of digital active ingredients of Accenture, said that these conversations are now priorities at the highest level of banking leadership. “Digital asset strategies have become conference room imperatives. The current administration policy has been a major catalyst in the elevation of digital asset initiatives, private experiences to gains appeal commitments, “he said.
Block has also observed: “A classic continuum seems to emerge, intrigue and optimism with token workers to prudence and skepticism with decentralized finance.”
Despite growing enthusiasm, operational and compliance challenges remain. Banks must strengthen their anti-whiteness protocols, monitoring reorganization transactions, strengthening cybersecurity defense and risk training personnel and digital asset mechanics.
Ben-Hur highlighted the importance of these improvements, saying: “Before banks could fully grasp the markets of digital assets, they must fill the key gaps in areas like KYC, AML and internal controls. Facing these shortcomings is essential both for regulatory compliance and long -term confidence. ”
While tokenization and stablecoins arouse strong interest, many banks remain cautious about Defi. Concepts such as stalement and automated merchants are considered complex and potentially risky according to current regulatory standards.
Block described this prudent position, noting: “There is intrigue and optimism with tokenized assets, but prudence and skepticism with decentralized finance.” However, the PWG report marks a change of policy by treating DEFI as a legitimate field of financial innovation. It recommends that regulators adapt the obligations to the unique characteristics of DEFI, rather than forcing it to comply with the inherited rules.
Banaei said this DEFI inclusion will accelerate competitive pressures. “Allowing DEFI in the regulatory perimeter will lead to FOMO’s power among investment banks,” he said. “This will require institutions to assess where they should build, where they should buy and where they should associate.”
This dynamic is already visible on the market. The mergers and acquisitions between banks and crypto-swimming companies should accelerate, in particular in the event of custody, tokenization and the infrastructure of Stablecoin. Ben-Hur said that banks could find acquisitions faster than internal development for the capacity scale, while certain cryptographic companies could acquire players inherited for licenses and market access.
Despite new competition, investment banks have major advantages: regulatory experience, relationships with deep customers and child care infrastructure. Banaei said these forces will only last if the banks are modernizing. “Banks have a huge advantage in already being the home of the American deposits,” he said. “If they can use staboins and a chain market infrastructure to offer faster, cheaper and more transparent services, they can not only defend but develop their market share,” he concluded.
