According to Cointelegraph, Ethena Labs, the creator of the USDe synthetic dollar, and financial technology firm Securitize have announced a preliminary roadmap for their forthcoming Converge network. This high-throughput blockchain aims to integrate real-world assets with decentralized finance (DeFi). The announcement outlines plans for a testnet launch in the coming weeks, followed by a mainnet release later in 2025. Converge is set to feature a native block time of 100 milliseconds, with ambitions to reduce this to 50 milliseconds by the fourth quarter of 2025. Additionally, the developers aim to achieve a throughput of at least one gigagas, a measure of billions of gas units processed per second, during the year.
The Converge network is being developed to support both permissioned real-world tokenized applications and permissionless DeFi applications, reflecting the ongoing convergence of traditional and decentralized finance. This blending of TradFi and DeFi has sparked varied reactions within the crypto community. Some view the integration as an inevitable evolution, while others express concerns over potential institutional dominance. In a recent interview, Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson emphasized the need for regulatory clarity to facilitate the integration of crypto and traditional finance. She noted that clear regulations could drive down costs and foster innovation.
Shibtoshi, founder of the SilentSwap privacy-preserving trading platform, shared insights with Cointelegraph regarding institutional adoption of DeFi. He highlighted that while some institutions are hesitant due to privacy concerns, legal liabilities, and regulatory uncertainties, solutions to these issues are already available. Shibtoshi pointed out that institutions have recognized the advantages of decentralized systems, with reports from as early as 2021 indicating that nearly one-third of institutional crypto investors were utilizing DeFi. This trend underscores the growing interest and potential for further integration between traditional financial systems and decentralized technologies.
