Stani Kulechov is another notable figure in the rapidly growing decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. He emphasized that DeFi needs to provide a tangible value proposition to achieve widespread adoption. Speaking at EthCC 2025 in Cannes, France, Kulechov highlighted that DeFi must solve real-world problems and offer superior solutions to attract a wider audience. On top of this, he mentioned the huge potential of tokenizing traditional assets and developing a more efficient and innovative financial ecosystem.
DeFi's Value Proposition
Kulechov emphasized that in order for DeFi to be an alternative to traditional finance, it needs to bring powerful solutions. He explained that a product needs to be “10 times better” in order to succeed. He touched on the need for it to remain clear and easy to understand.
"If we want to compete with traditional finance, if we want to change the world, we want to do things 10 times better" - Stani Kulechov
Kulechov is confident that DeFi will transform asset management by developing efficiencies that just aren’t able to be done today. His focus is on producing assets that “might be” because they do not have the inefficiencies that exist today.
On-chain Migration of Traditional Assets
Kulechov reiterated further the advantages of moving traditional financial assets to the blockchain. He thinks that getting all the old legacy systems onchain will result in a much leaner, meaner ecosystem. This transition will improve transparency for assets, too.
"able to get all this legacy stuff onchain" - Stani Kulechov
He noted that a wide range of assets, including real estate, government bonds, equities, and corporate bonds, could be more efficiently managed on a transparent and programmable ledger. Kulechov imagines this migration as not just a means to create smarter than before, but as an opportunity to develop completely new types of assets.
The Path to Mass Adoption
Kulechov recognized the watershed adoption of digital wallets during the pandemic, with an estimate that more than 60% of the population uses digital wallets. As the first steps in making decentralized finance accessible to the masses, he views this as an important evolution.
"A lot of the adoption has happened in digital finance at the moment, and the continuation is how to bring this mass onchain" - Stani Kulechov
He pointed out that dissatisfaction with traditional banking experiences has driven many users to fintech applications, which have captured a significant market share.
"Thanks to horrible banking experiences, we've seen a lot of finance coming into fintech, and fintech applications [have been] able to capture a lot of market share" - Stani Kulechov
