Opinion: Institutional demand hits a new high after the Genius Act, with tokenization and "agent-based business" becoming new focal points

BlockBeats News, February 15 — At the Consensus Hong Kong conference, Sui executives Stephen Mackintosh and Evan Cheng stated that 2025 will be the “watershed year” for institutional crypto adoption. Following the enactment of the “Genius Act,” institutional awareness and allocation demand for crypto assets have significantly increased.

Mackintosh pointed out that the surge in digital asset vault (DAT) tools, the successful launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, and the entry of major trading firms like Citadel and Jane Street all indicate that institutions are accelerating their deployment of crypto infrastructure and talent reserves. He noted that even though market sentiment has weakened temporarily, options trading volume has hit record highs, and the structural growth trend remains unchanged. “Institutional demand has never been this strong.”

Cheng emphasized that traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) will move toward integration rather than competition in the future. He pointed out that traditional products often have a “T+1” or longer settlement cycle, whereas DeFi offers “T+0” instant settlement, providing a clear efficiency advantage. Through asset tokenization, investors can immediately engage in collateralized lending after acquiring assets, layering DeFi strategies on top of traditional exposure.

Both executives also stated that tokenization and agentic commerce—AI-driven on-chain transactions—will become key focus areas in the next phase.