Maple Finance CEO and co-founder Sid Powell says DeFi is unlikely to remain a separate sector for much longer. Instead, he expects it to become the underlying infrastructure of global finance. In his view, institutions will soon stop drawing a line between DeFi and traditional finance as an increasing share of capital-market activity settles directly on public blockchains.

Powell believes the real growth driver of onchain finance will be tokenized private credit, not tokenized Treasuries. This shift, he argues, could help push DeFi’s market capitalization toward the $1 trillion mark. Looking ahead, he also warns that 2026 may see a major onchain credit default, while stablecoin payments could surge to as much as $50 trillion, fueled by small businesses and neobanks seeking faster settlement and lower transaction costs.