Where TradFi Meets DeFi: Insights from Our Live Webinar with Patrick Hennes

On June 12, we hosted an exclusive webinar titled "Where TradFi Meets DeFi – Trust Through Structure", bringing together voices from both traditional and decentralized finance to unpack what trust, technology, and adoption really mean in the era of tokenization.

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🎙️ Guest Speaker: Patrick Hennes, NextGen Finance & Tokenization Expert.
🎤 Hosted by: Edwin Mata, CEO of Brickken.
▶️ Watch the replay: YouTube Link

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The Key Question: Is TradFi Ready to Integrate DeFi Infrastructure?

Patrick Hennes opened the session by reframing the traditional vs. decentralized finance debate. For him, DeFi is not a replacement of TradFi, but an evolutionary layer built atop it. What began as sandbox experimentation a decade ago is now maturing into institutional mandates.

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“We won’t adapt to DeFi, but we will adopt it,” Patrick stated, marking a shift from innovation on the fringes to real mandates from financial institutions to explore tokenization.

Three Core Risks Slowing Down Institutional Adoption

Hennes outlined three critical barriers that must be addressed before widespread tokenization takes hold in regulated markets:

1. Legal & Regulatory Uncertainty
   Even with frameworks like MiCA in place, ambiguity around asset classification complicates decision-making. Hennes emphasized the need for collaboration between providers, institutions, and regulators to define actionable best practices.
   
   
2. Technical Risks & Smart Contract Standards
   Smart contracts must translate legal documents like fund prospectuses, but who audits that translation? Without industry-wide technical standards, trust and compliance remain weak links in adoption.
   
   
3. Operational Gaps & Legacy Systems
   Many financial institutions still rely on outdated infrastructure. Integrating blockchain workflows requires more than new software, it demands organizational change, retraining, and risk oversight for every layer of automation.
   
   

What Institutions Really Look for in Tokenization Partners

When asked how banks assess blockchain solution providers, Patrick provided a clear framework:

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✅ Governance & Transparency: Financial statements, cap tables, board structure
✅ Security & Compliance: Audited smart contracts, KYC/AML robustness
✅ Operational Maturity: The ability to integrate within legacy systems, meet due diligence, and deliver reliability at scale

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“A startup might have a brilliant product, but if the company lacks structure, they’re not ready to work with institutions,” Patrick warned.

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He also emphasized the importance of proof-of-concept testing, competitive evaluations, and the evolving expectation that providers be “institutional-grade”, not just in tech, but in structure and governance.

The Road Ahead: Tokenized Funds, Stablecoins & Dual-System Models

The most promising use cases Patrick sees for 2025 and beyond?

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• Tokenized investment funds, including money markets and private equity
• Digital gold, tokenized art, and other alternative assets
• Stablecoins to bridge fiat liquidity gaps with on-chain efficiency
• Dual models, where legacy and blockchain systems operate in parallel to serve both traditional and digitally native clients

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He also highlighted stablecoins as essential infrastructure:

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“We need digitalized fiat, not just to move faster, but to make products interesting for the next generation of investors.”

Final Takeaway: Trust Will Drive the Next Wave

Both speakers agreed: regulation, standards, and operational excellence will define the winners in institutional tokenization. Building trust isn’t optional, it’s the core infrastructure.

🧠 Missed the session?
▶️ Watch the full replay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6xhKfFTLr4

🗓️ Stay tuned for the next Brickken webinar, where we continue unpacking the future of regulated digital finance.

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