Crypto Firms Expand Into Traditional Finance: As Industry Boundaries Blur
Amidst the turmoil in the global financial markets, crypto companies and exchanges are actively moving into Wall Street territory. Their continued rollout of traditional investment services is a clear demonstration of the increasingly close relationship between crypto and traditional finance (TradFi).
Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget – one of the six largest crypto exchanges in the world – shared:
There is an increasingly clear synergy between traditional financial investments and the growing crypto ecosystem. Crypto businesses are actively looking to TradFi to bridge the gap between the two worlds.
According to Chen, the barriers between financial sectors are gradually disappearing, as modern investors increasingly prioritize flexibility and efficiency.
Some see TradFi as a safe haven, while others like Bitget see it as a launchpad for blockchain adoption,” she added. “In a volatile market, smart integration is more important than isolation.
Kraken, Coinbase and the new investment revolution
The comments come shortly after Kraken, one of the oldest crypto exchanges, announced it was opening access to more than 11,000 US stocks and ETFs in mid-April. The move comes as the S&P 500 suffered a record drop, wiping out more than $5 trillion in market capitalization in two days following US President Donald Trump’s import tariff announcement.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, outlined a similar vision in a recent earnings report. Armstrong emphasized that Coinbase aims to modernize the entire global financial system by “putting the world’s GDP on the blockchain,” aiming to build a system that is “freer, fairer, and more efficient.”
When digital and traditional assets become symbiotic
A Coinbase spokesperson said:
We believe that digital and traditional assets are symbiotic. Integrating the two is central to our mission to create economic freedom for billions of people.
This integration is not just being driven by crypto companies. Omri Hanover, CEO of the Gems Trade platform, describes the convergence between crypto and traditional finance as inevitable:
Blockchain technology brings speed and transparency, while traditional finance offers trust, scale, and compliance – a perfect match for the future of finance.
TradFi is also entering the crypto space
Not only are crypto companies entering the traditional space, but financial investment platforms such as eToro and Robinhood have also expanded into the crypto space by offering digital asset trading services. This shows a clearer picture of the two-way integration between financial ecosystems.
Bitcoin Returns to the Center of Major Money Flows
This financial convergence is also happening in parallel with large institutional investments in Bitcoin. Recently, Strategy – formerly MicroStrategy – bought an additional 6,556 Bitcoins worth approximately $555.8 million, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 538,200 BTC. The company's total Bitcoin investment value has now exceeded $36.5 billion.
Under the leadership of Michael Saylor, Strategy is becoming a symbol of the trend of traditional financial institutions adopting and investing in digital assets for the long term.
The future of finance is integration – not separation
From crypto exchanges to traditional banks, all are gradually forming a hybrid finance ecosystem – where blockchain technology does not replace, but complements and strengthens the existing financial system.
As one industry expert commented: The future is not TradFi or DeFi – but the convergence of both, serving global users more flexibly, transparently and efficiently than ever before.