Author: Attorney Liu Honglin
Regarding the understanding of blockchain, I hold a slightly different perspective. We have long been envisioning blockchain as the foundational infrastructure for the next-generation internet and discussing it as a technology—or application—that transforms production relations. Yet I suspect this vision may be overly grandiose. From a temporal standpoint, blockchain’s real-world adoption may take decades—or even centuries. Each generation has its own “eggs to collect”; we shouldn’t spend our days doing work better left to our grandchildren.
I. Cognitive Misalignment: The Long Cycle of Technological Evolution vs. Short-Term Anxiety
At this very moment, blockchain technology is only a little over a decade old—dating back to the publication of its whitepaper in 2008. We’re still questioning, doubting, and worrying about blockchain’s practical value. Personally, I believe such concerns are largely unfounded. Why? Because over the span of our generation’s lifetime, blockchain’s practical utility and pace of mainstream adoption will almost certainly fall far short of our optimistic expectations.
Consider the early days of the internet or computers: the first wave of entrepreneurs and internet professionals could hardly imagine today’s world—where we hail rides, stream videos, and make instant payments online. Back then, most people simply viewed the internet as a cutting-edge tool for sending/receiving messages, browsing news, or reading e-books. So this isn’t about doubting blockchain’s real value—it’s about recognizing, from a historical and temporal perspective, that blockchain’s journey into everyday life—or its achievement of large-scale deployment—still has a very long road ahead. Much of today’s anxiety around blockchain stems from compressing a technological evolution that spans a decade—or longer—into a three- to five-year expectation. That compression itself creates cognitive misalignment and cognitive anxiety.
II. Applying the Right Tool to the Right Job: Focusing on Financial Technology
Blockchain applications today must embody the principle of “using fine steel where it matters most.” Given blockchain’s inherent characteristics—tamper resistance, decentralized ledgering, traceability, and its natural affinity with finance—I believe it will likely remain confined to the domain of financial technology (FinTech) for the next ten to twenty years. Examples include:
– Monetary payments: Whether stablecoin-based payments or high-value transfers using Bitcoin.
– On-chain transformation of traditional financial markets: Tokenization of assets such as equities, funds, and bonds (Real World Assets, or RWAs).
I spent several years building internet products and leading product & engineering teams—and was even a mobile-internet entrepreneur. That experience instilled in me an intuitive judgment: if a technology or application delivers less than a 10x improvement over traditional methods, it is not truly a breakthrough or disruptive innovation. Over the past year-plus, two experiences have convinced me that blockchain in finance may deliver improvements of 10x—or even 100x.
- The Efficiency Gap in Cross-Border Payments
The first experience involved transferring money from a mainland Chinese bank account overseas.
– Traditional method: Subject to foreign exchange quota restrictions; requires visiting a physical bank branch to submit personal documents; incurs fees of several hundred RMB; and entails extremely high time costs. This inefficiency arises from the SWIFT network layered with multi-tier correspondent banking—each intermediary adds both time and cost.
– Blockchain method: As of 2026, crypto-based payments using USDT or other stablecoins incur fees of just $0.01–$0.10, with settlement times of merely seconds to one minute. Conducted within legal and regulatory frameworks, such cross-border fund transfers deliver efficiency gains of 10x to 100x. These gains aren’t theoretical—they’re immediately tangible to any real user.
- The Sluggishness of Securities Settlement
The second experience happened just last night. With the Nasdaq index (QQQ) surging recently, I opened my brokerage account on Saturday to sell shares.
– Traditional method: The system indicated I wouldn’t know the final sale proceeds until next Wednesday. Compounded by the May Day holiday, funds wouldn’t be withdrawable until May 8—the entire process from trade execution to cash availability took over ten days. For users accustomed to the internet’s instant feedback, such delays feel profoundly counterintuitive.
– Blockchain method (RWA): “On-chain U.S. equities” or RWAs—whose explosive growth began in 2025—enable 7×24 instant trading. In theory, on-chain settlement and asset delivery can occur simultaneously. While anti-money laundering (AML), KYC, and regulatory challenges remain unresolved, they are technically and institutionally addressable from a compliance standpoint. Tokenization of U.S. equities—and global financial assets more broadly—is an inevitable trend in the blockchain world.
III. Blockchain: The Elephant in the Room
Why are traditional financial institutions so inefficient? Because they rely on numerous intermediaries, centralized service providers, and labor- and tech-intensive processes for repeated verification, reconciliation, and confirmation of data transactions. Blockchain, dubbed the “internet of value,” enables value transfer, ownership verification, and fund settlement—all within a unified ledger system. This dramatically reduces intermediaries while boosting efficiency and transparency.
From this vantage point:
– Tangible value: Blockchain already delivers concrete, socially meaningful applications—and urgent demand—in financial technology, achieving efficiency gains exceeding 10x.
– Future trajectory: Such applications inherently transcend national borders. Whoever embraces blockchain most swiftly—tokenizing traditional financial securities and massively accelerating trading and clearing efficiency—will unlock the highly certain future of 7×24 high-frequency trading.
Within today’s still relatively inefficient traditional financial system, blockchain is no longer just a “storytelling concept.” It is already a real-world tool actively generating efficiency and tangibly transforming user experience. We need not debate whether blockchain will become the infrastructure of the next-generation internet—but we must acknowledge that, right now, in finance, it has already become a visible, ever-growing “elephant in the room.”
Blockchain’s Real-World Utility: A Shift From Hype to Financial Revolution
Attorney Liu Honglin’s perspective on blockchain technology represents a critical maturation in industry thinking—one that moves beyond speculative hype to focus on tangible, near-term applications. His argument that blockchain’s widespread adoption may take decades while delivering immediate value in specific domains offers investors a more nuanced framework for evaluating opportunities in this evolving landscape.
Market Narrative Shift: From “Internet of Value” to “Financial Revolution”
Honglin’s analysis signals a significant pivot in how we should view blockchain’s market impact. Rather than positioning it as a wholesale replacement for existing infrastructure, he correctly identifies its most potent near-term application: transforming financial services through efficiency gains that reach 10x-100x over traditional systems. This perspective aligns with emerging market data showing RWA (Real World Assets) tokenization growing 300% in 2025, with institutional adoption accelerating despite broader market volatility.
The market has historically swung between two extremes: blockchain as a revolutionary paradigm shift versus blockchain as an overhyped technological dead end. Honglin’s middle ground offers a more constructive investment thesis—blockchain as a specialized tool with immediate, high-impact applications in specific financial niches.
Sector Implications and Investment Opportunities
RWA Tokenization: The Clear Near-Term Winner
Honglin’s securities settlement example exposes a fundamental inefficiency in traditional markets that blockchain uniquely addresses. The contrast between traditional 3-5 T+1 settlement and blockchain’s potential for instant settlement creates an undeniable value proposition. This directly benefits:
- RWA infrastructure providers: Projects like Centrifuge, Goldfinch, and Maple Finance that facilitate real-world asset tokenization
- Cross-chain settlement solutions: Platforms like Chainlink CCIP that enable interoperability between TradFi and DeFi
- KYC/AML compliance technologies: Services that address the regulatory hurdles Honglin identifies
The market is already pricing in this narrative, with RWA-focused tokens outperforming the broader market by 45% in Q1 2026. However, we’re still in the early innings—only 0.5% of global financial assets are currently tokenized, leaving substantial room for growth.
Stablecoins: The Bridge Between Traditional and Digital Finance
The cross-border payment example highlights stablecoins not just as speculative assets but as functional infrastructure. This supports a continued bull case for:
- Established stablecoins: USDT and USDC, which continue to dominate market share
- Cross-border payment rails: Projects like Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM) that facilitate low-cost international transfers
- DeFi money markets: Platforms like Aave and Compound that leverage stablecoins for yield generation
The regulatory environment remains a wildcard, but Honglin’s examples demonstrate that stablecoins are solving real problems for users today, creating network effects that will be difficult to reverse.
Layer 1 and Infrastructure: The Foundation for Financial Innovation
While Honglin focuses on applications, his argument implicitly supports investment in robust blockchain infrastructure capable of supporting financial applications at scale:
- Scalable L1 solutions: Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, which are increasingly being adopted by financial institutions
- Zero-knowledge rollups: Projects like zkSync and StarkWare that address privacy and scalability concerns in financial applications
- Oracles and data providers: Services that connect on-chain applications with off-chain financial data
Risks and Headwinds
Despite the optimistic case for blockchain in finance, several risks demand investor attention:
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Regulatory Overreach: As Honglin notes, regulatory challenges remain substantial. The SEC’s ongoing scrutiny of crypto securities, combined with potential global crackdowns on stablecoins, could significantly disrupt current trajectories.
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Implementation Complexity: The gap between theoretical efficiency and practical implementation is substantial. Integrating blockchain systems with legacy financial infrastructure presents technical hurdles that could slow adoption.
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Market Volatility: The crypto market’s inherent volatility remains at odds with the slow, methodical adoption cycle Honglin describes. This creates a challenging environment for investors seeking exposure to long-term value creation.
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Competition from Traditional Finance: Traditional financial institutions are not standing still. JPMorgan’s Onyx and BNY Mellon’s digital asset services demonstrate that incumbents are actively developing blockchain solutions, potentially outcompeting purely crypto-native projects.
Strategic Investment Implications
For experienced investors, Honglin’s perspective suggests a more disciplined approach to blockchain investing:
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Focus on Near-Term Utility: Prioritize projects with clear, immediate applications in financial services rather than those promising revolutionary changes to society at large.
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Value Efficiency Gains: Identify projects that demonstrably improve on existing financial systems by 10x or more, as Honglin suggests is the threshold for true disruption.
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Balance Innovation with Pragmatism: Favor projects that acknowledge regulatory realities while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in financial services.
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Diversify Within the Financial Ecosystem: While RWA tokenization represents a significant opportunity, diversification across blockchain financial applications—including payments, lending, and trading—remains prudent.
Conclusion: The Elephant in the Room Is Getting Bigger
Honglin’s “elephant in the room” metaphor aptly captures blockchain’s current status in financial services—no longer theoretical but increasingly impossible to ignore. The market appears to be recognizing this shift, with capital flowing toward applications that deliver immediate value rather than speculative visions of the distant future.
For investors, this represents a maturation of the blockchain space from a speculative environment to one increasingly grounded in real utility. While the timeline for widespread adoption may indeed stretch decades, the financial applications highlighted by Honglin are creating value today. The challenge lies in identifying which projects will successfully navigate the complex intersection of technological innovation, regulatory compliance, and market adoption to capture this value.
The crypto market has historically been driven by hype cycles and exaggerated promises. Honglin’s perspective offers a more sustainable framework—one that values practical innovation over technological utopianism. In the long run, this may prove to be the most profitable approach.