Traditional financial giants hold trillions of dollars in capital yet are constrained by compliance shackles; DeFi pioneers possess innovative technology but struggle to gain mainstream recognition. This divided landscape has long existed, like an invisible chasm, becoming the biggest theme of the current cycle and the coming years, blocking the inflow of trillion-dollar institutional funds.

Just last week, Ethena Labs and Securitize jointly launched Converge, a traditional finance and digital dollar settlement network. The vision is to provide the first settlement layer blockchain designed specifically for the convergence of TradFi and DeFi.

The era of traditional finance and DeFi integration may be just around the corner.

Solving the Three Major Challenges of RWA Development

Facing the trillion-dollar capital pool of traditional financial markets, DeFi's current $100 billion TVL seems insignificant. Financial institutions are not unwilling to enter but lack compliant and efficient access channels. The existing public chains' shortcomings in KYC verification and transaction monitoring deter institutional investors with substantial funds.

Ethena and Securitize's joint launch of the Converge mainnet precisely targets this structural opportunity.

Converge's positioning is very clear: a Layer 1 designed specifically for RWA and compatible with EVM.

The problem it aims to solve directly addresses the core issues facing RWA development—creating a settlement platform that meets financial institutions' compliance requirements while fully leveraging DeFi's decentralization advantages.

In the officially released materials, Converge's solution demonstrates systematic thinking:

First, technical infrastructure upgrade. By creating a high-quality EVM-compatible mainnet, reducing cross-chain asset friction costs.

Second, compliance framework construction. This involves Securitize, Ethena's partner backed by BlackRock's investment platform. Securitize's BUIDL fund is currently the largest RWA fund, with a TVL of $1.2 billion. Last year, Ethena had already collaborated with Securitize to launch USDtb stablecoin backed by asset tokenization from the BUIDL fund. This time, they will introduce Securitize's regulatory technology module in Converge, achieving full-process compliance coverage from KYC certification to transaction monitoring.

Lastly, ecosystem collaborative construction. Currently, in asset custody, institutions like Copper, Fireblocks, Komainu, and Zodia have joined, providing guarantees for institutional funds' safe entry. On the DeFi protocol side, top protocols such as Aave, Ethereal, Maple Finance, Morpho, and Pendle have participated, promising to build and distribute institutional-level DeFi products on Converge.

Thus, forming a three-dimensional layout of "technology + compliance + ecosystem" creates a unique competitive advantage.