Arredondo says the industry has spent years building separate blockchain networks, stablecoins and digital currency projects, but has spent less time ensuring these systems can work together.
“We need to move the market away from being about everyone doing their own very interesting things, to actually thinking about setting standards across the board.”
The problem has become more prominent as governments, banks and private companies increasingly experiment with token deposits, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Arredondo cited the European Union (EU) as an example of a jurisdiction seeking to accommodate multiple forms of digital currency simultaneously.
The EU’s approach allows stablecoins, tokenized bank deposits and central bank money to coexist within the same general framework, she said.
The crypto role of Wall Street
The growing role of banks, asset managers and large financial institutions in crypto has divided the sector. Some early crypto proponents say the industry is moving away from its initial goals of decentralization and disintermediation.
Arredondo sees things differently. “The first vision of crypto raised fundamental economic questions and brought them to the mainstream,” she said.
For Arredondo, the rise of institutional crypto doesn’t mean the industry’s early ideas have failed.
Instead, she sees it as proof that ideas first developed in the crypto sphere are increasingly being adopted by traditional finance. “It should not be disappointing that we maintain the pillars that have long anchored trust in money.”
