Blockchain will reshape the US financial market: From panic to comprehensive format

In December, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins made a notable statement: the entire US financial market could move onto blockchain within two years. This may sound like a speculative scenario, but if we consider it as a genuine turning point that could happen, we need to reflect on its profound implications. This will be a comprehensive restructuring, not just a technological upgrade.

24/7 Market: Transition from Periodic Panic to Continuous Pressure

The current image of the financial market will completely disappear. The traditional T+1/T+2 cycle is outdated—blockchain enables real-time transactions at (T+0), instant settlement, and unrestrained capital flow.

This creates a continuously operating market, similar to today’s cryptocurrency markets. The “market close” door will be permanently open. Every global news, any event, will immediately impact asset prices. Sentiment and volatility will no longer be isolated by time.

The velocity of money (Velocity of Money) will spike dramatically, while the cost of capital across the economy will be structurally compressed.

SEC: From Oversight and Reporting to Real-Time Surveillance

Absolute transparency is a hallmark of blockchain. Position-building activities, unsecured short selling, or liquidity crunch points will all be exposed.

Regulators will no longer rely on delayed reports—they will monitor on-chain data directly in real time. For manipulators, this is a nightmare; for the market, it’s a new fairness brought by “embedded supervision.”

Banks: From “Black Box” to “Glass Walls”

The impact on commercial banking systems is even deeper. When government bonds and credit assets are tokenized, balance sheets will be “publicly sold.”

Regulators and markets will be able to see immediately the liquidity and collateral quality of each bank. Risks like Silicon Valley Bank could be warned earlier.

But it’s also a double-edged sword: In a hyper-transparent world, fears can spread without barriers. “Bank runs” could happen quickly and more dangerously than ever.

Everything can be collateralized via smart contracts—from receivables, inventories, to future cash flows of enterprises. Fundraising efficiency will reach unprecedented levels, but supervision will shift to complex “programmable leverage” on the chain.

Real Economy: Democratizing Assets via “Micro IPOs”

This is the least appreciated aspect—blockchain will democratize fundraising.

Small and medium enterprises will issue “micro securities” compliant with regulations. Fundraising will no longer be the privilege of giants—capital will penetrate grassroots economies through blockchain.

Existing assets will be liquefied. An office building, a power plant, or patent rights—things previously only large organizations could participate in—will be fractionalized (Fractionalized).

Global investors can buy small parts as easily as purchasing stocks. For the US, this means domestic assets will receive a huge “liquidity premium,” attracting global capital flows.

Geopolitics: “Next-Generation Upgrade” for USD Hegemony

Many misunderstand that “going on-chain” means decentralization and reducing national power. The reality is quite the opposite.

If the US leads in tokenizing government bonds and monetary reserves, allowing global capital to access USD assets at the lowest cost, fastest speed, and with no entry barriers—this will be the strongest fortress protecting its currency dominance.

If European and Asian markets cannot synchronize supervision and infrastructure, capital will “vote with its feet,” flowing into the more efficient and transparent USD on-chain system. This is not a sign of USD weakening, but a “next-generation upgrade” of monetary infrastructure.

New Risks: From Human Panic to Code Errors

Financial crises will look entirely different. Smart contract bugs, oracle manipulations, cross-chain bridge failures—these factors will become new systemic risks, replacing traditional human panic.

The impact will be more “technified” and “concentrated.” Crises could erupt and end within minutes, rather than lasting months like in 2008.

Market rescue will no longer rely on “weekend meetings” but on “data-driven decisions” and “bug fixing through code.”

Winners and Losers in the Restructuring

Potential winners:

• Infrastructure builders: On-chain custody, identity verification (DID), compliant oracle providers
• Next-generation investment banks: Asset management firms capable of connecting assets on the global chain
• Multidisciplinary talent: Those who understand both financial compliance and Solidity coding

Those under pressure:

• Traditional intermediaries: Clearinghouses, transfer agents, brokers profiting from information asymmetry will be replaced by smart contracts
• Gray industry: Any sector relying on opaque, non-compliant cash flows will lose hiding spots under full-chain supervision

Reality: The Path is Certain, Only Speed is Variable

Two years to transform the entire market? Almost impossible. The bottlenecks—technological throughput, outdated legal frameworks, vested interest battles—these three “great mountains” are hard to overcome within 24 months.

A more feasible roadmap is gradual progression. Starting with government bonds, repo markets, some OTC derivatives. The new and old systems will run in parallel, gradually eroding the old world.

Whether fast or slow, the direction Paul Atkins points to is irreversible. This is not just technological repetition but a primal choice of capital to achieve higher efficiency. The future of the US financial market will undoubtedly be on blockchain.