In a conversation with Nathaniel Wittemore of Coindesk, Circle Co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire explored the future of decentralized finance (DeFi) and its potential integration with institutional finance. Allaire highlighted that while interest in DeFi from businesses and institutions is growing, their engagement remains limited due to perceived risks and regulatory challenges. He pointed out the attractiveness of stablecoin yield markets for corporate treasurers who find direct cryptocurrency investments too risky. Allaire emphasized that the maturation of DeFi infrastructure could revolutionize capital markets by allowing more direct and efficient transactions, akin to the transformation brought by the internet to global advertising. However, he stressed the importance of regulatory compliance and infrastructure capable of handling massive transaction volumes to achieve widespread adoption. The burgeoning DeFi space, which has seen significant growth, still requires substantial infrastructure and regulatory developments to fully capitalize on the $350 trillion global equity and debt markets.