Columbia Professor Exposes the 'Conspiracy of Giants Going On-Chain': Beware the 'Suit Simps' Selling Out Crypto's Future
In his article, Columbia Business School professor Omid Malekan expresses skepticism toward the recent embrace of tokenization by major traditional finance (TradFi) firms—including DTCC, SWIFT, Visa, Stripe, and PayPal. While these companies publicly promote blockchain's benefits—such as real-time payments, 24/7 settlement, and programmability—they largely ignore the existential threat that permissionless, decentralized networks pose to their core business models.
Malekan argues that truly decentralized systems like Ethereum fundamentally challenge the centralized control these institutions rely on. For example, DTCC’s tokenization efforts avoid addressing how direct on-chain issuance could eliminate the need for centralized clearinghouses. Similarly, stablecoins threaten SWIFT’s cross-border messaging monopoly and Visa’s card-based payment model.
Although these firms see growth opportunities in blockchain—such as new fee structures or expanded services—they face an innovator’s dilemma: their legacy businesses must be disrupted for crypto’s full potential to materialize. Malekan warns that these companies, driven by risk aversion and entrenched interests, may push for regulatory capture and compromise core crypto values like permissionless access and censorship resistance.
He highlights concerning trends: JPMorgan limiting tokenized assets to accredited investors, DTCC favoring permissioned “enterprise chains,” and Stripe supporting a initially permissioned blockchain. Malekan cautions against “suit simps” in crypto—those who compromise decentralization to appease traditional finance—and urges the industry to avoid diluting its foundational innovations as TradFi adopts blockchain technology.
比推12/19 21:39
