Blockchain Intermediaries Are Quietly Emerging
The cryptocurrency industry has long promoted a vision of disintermediation, where public blockchains allow people to transact, save, and invest without relying on banks, brokers, or other traditional gatekeepers. However, recent developments suggest that this vision may be more complicated than initially thought.
Stablecoins, which were once seen as a way to reduce dependence on traditional banking institutions, are now increasingly moving within formal regulatory frameworks. Confidence in stablecoins often depends on trust in the issuer, its governance, reserves, and regulatory compliance. In other words, trust has not disappeared; it's been reassigned.
Tokenisation is also favouring institutional players, with over $36 billion in real-world assets represented on-chain across various asset classes. The leading participants are not anonymous decentralised communities but established financial institutions such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan.
The growth of spot Bitcoin ETFs is another example of institutional adoption being intermediated. These products have attracted over $51 billion in cumulative net inflows as of July 27, 2026, highlighting how a growing share of crypto exposure is accessed through regulated investment vehicles rather than direct interaction with blockchain networks.
The experience of DAOs also provides a broader lesson about decentralisation. While they distribute decision-making across token holders, participation often remains limited, and influence tends to concentrate among highly engaged delegates, large token holders, and governance specialists.