Blockchains ready for institutions, lawyers hesitate: DoubleZero CEO

While blockchain infrastructure has matured to support large-scale institutional use, legal departments within major firms remain cautious about full integration. Speaking at the Token2049 event in Dubai, Austin Federa, founder of DoubleZero and former head of strategy at Solana, shared his views on the evolving landscape with Cointelegraph.

“Most modern blockchains, particularly Solana, have reached the speed and capability institutions need,” said Federa. “The real challenge lies in getting institutional legal teams comfortable with crypto.”

Despite increasing regulatory clarity in key regions like the United States, many compliance departments continue to deliberate over risks, potentially delaying adoption. Federa noted that while the technical infrastructure is no longer a barrier — with tools already in place for enterprise-level activity on networks like Solana — institutional processes tend to move slowly.

“People expect large institutions to move quickly, but that’s not typically their strength,” Federa added.

Growing Institutional Interest in Crypto Infrastructure

Federa pointed to a noticeable increase in institutional participation within crypto infrastructure. Bare-metal providers and venture capital firms have begun offering financial backing and contributing physical infrastructure, including fiber, to support DoubleZero’s operations — a level of involvement previously considered too risky.

“Two years ago, many of these firms wouldn’t have considered such investments,” he said. The move from simply running validator nodes to deploying physical infrastructure represents a significant commitment, indicating a broader shift in traditional finance’s approach to blockchain.

However, Federa acknowledged that while infrastructure readiness has advanced, much of the crypto product ecosystem is still evolving. “The products aren’t fully there yet, but institutional involvement is steadily growing,” he concluded.

Source: Cointelegraph

Voice of Osiz

It’s clear that blockchain infrastructure has outpaced the hesitation in institutional boardrooms. In our view, legal inertia is no longer a valid excuse to stall adoption. Institutions willing to embrace regulatory innovation will lead this next chapter, while others risk falling behind. The technology is ready — it’s time the legal world caught up.