Bridging Traditional Finance and DeFi

Technology giant IBM is making a significant move into the digital asset sector, announcing a new cryptocurrency platform designed for institutional clients in the United States. Dubbed the “Digital Asset Haven,” the platform aims to provide businesses and government entities with crypto custody and payment services, simplifying the integration of digital assets into existing financial systems.

Developed in collaboration with crypto wallet provider Dfns, the new offering is scheduled to launch as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product in the fourth quarter of 2025. It will enable institutions to access on-chain yield opportunities from Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols across 40 public blockchains while also addressing complex token compliance requirements.

A Response to Surging Institutional Demand

IBM’s initiative reflects a broader trend across traditional finance, where major banks and asset managers are increasingly exploring tokenization and blockchain-based settlement. According to IBM, the rising adoption of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) is fueling the demand for institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure.

This demand is supported by recent market data. According to Binance Research, the market for tokenized stocks grew by 220% in July, a pattern reminiscent of the early DeFi boom. The number of blockchain addresses holding tokenized stocks also surged from 1,600 in June to over 90,000 in July, signaling strong investor interest.

Clarisse Hagège, CEO of Dfns, explained that for digital assets to be integrated into core banking, the underlying infrastructure must meet the same high standards as traditional financial rails. She noted that the joint platform was built to orchestrate the entire digital asset ecosystem, helping to move projects from pilot programs to global-scale production.

Key features of the platform include a unified framework for governance, integrated third-party solutions for identity verification and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and yield generation opportunities secured by IBM’s infrastructure. This push for compliant, on-chain finance is echoed by other industry leaders. At the RWA Summit 2025, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov argued that blockchain-based compliance tools could ultimately make traditional transactions ten times faster and cheaper than legacy systems.