Blockchain's Impact on Finance: Serving Both Ends of the Spectrum

The global economy is undergoing significant changes, with monetary policies highlighting the need for stable infrastructure for cross-border transactions using digital assets. Blockchain technology offers a viable solution to current financial challenges, benefiting two distinct groups: financial institutions and the 1.4 billion unbanked individuals. Institutions gain enhanced speed and scalability, while the unbanked experience increased accessibility and equity. As industry builders, it's essential to cater to both groups to realize blockchain's full potential. The financially marginalized have long sought solutions in cutting-edge technology, and the traditional financial world is now recognizing its benefits. Recently, Franklin Templeton's CEO, Jenny Johnson, discussed how costs in asset management have risen by 80% over the last decade, while revenues have decreased by 15%. Franklin Templeton's breakthrough in launching a tokenized money market fund, which reduces transaction costs from $1 to less than a penny, illustrates the institutional awakening to blockchain's potential. This development not only cuts costs but also validates the infrastructure that can serve both institutional boardrooms and the billions excluded from traditional finance. The same blockchain technology enabling Franklin Templeton's efficiency gains can facilitate $50 remittances from Dubai to the Philippines in seconds, rather than several business days. It removes friction, whether settling $100 million in tokenized assets or sending $100 to family abroad. Major institutions like BlackRock, Fidelity, and JPMorgan are demonstrating blockchain's viability at an unprecedented scale, while aid organizations like the United Nations Refugee Agency are showcasing its humanitarian potential by distributing assistance directly to those in need. These parallel developments reflect blockchain's unique ability to serve both efficiency and equity. The institutional momentum creates crucial infrastructure benefits for everyone, as major financial players investing in blockchain networks strengthen the rails that underbanked populations can access. Regulatory frameworks supporting institutional adoption create legal clarity that benefits all users. Consider the numbers driving institutional interest and human need: global transaction banking generates nearly $1.4 trillion in annual revenue, yet operational inefficiencies cost an estimated 8-10% of that revenue. For institutions, blockchain technology offers clear solutions to these challenges. For the unbanked, the stakes are different but equally compelling, with remittances exceeding $900 billion globally in 2024, carrying average fees of 6.62% worldwide. Working families lose billions annually to these costs, and when a domestic worker sends $500 home, losing $50 to fees represents genuine hardship. The convergence becomes clear: the same technology solving institutional inefficiencies can address human exclusion from the financial system. Blockchain networks processing transactions for fractions of a penny with 3-5 second settlement times serve both institutional treasuries and individual remittances equally well. Real-world stress tests prove blockchain's dual utility, as seen in Argentina, where inflation reached 236.7% by late 2024, and both institutions and individuals are embracing digital assets out of necessity. Data shows 61.8% of Argentina's crypto transactions now involve stablecoins, used as economic survival tools to preserve purchasing power against peso devaluation. This crisis-driven adoption reveals blockchain's fundamental value proposition: removing dependence on fragile intermediaries and national monetary systems. Whether you're a fund manager hedging institutional exposure or a family protecting savings, the infrastructure provides the same essential service: stable, borderless value transfer. The infrastructure exists, with modern blockchain networks processing tens of billions of operations and serving millions of accounts worldwide. However, actualizing blockchain's full potential requires intentional design for both audiences, building interfaces sophisticated enough for institutional treasury management yet simple enough for first-time users. Success demands partnerships spanning both worlds, working with established financial institutions to build robust infrastructure while partnering with mobile money operators, community organizations, and fintech companies serving underbanked populations. The goal isn't choosing between efficiency and equity but achieving both simultaneously. Blockchain's unique promise lies in its ability to serve seemingly different constituencies with the same fundamental infrastructure. The networks enabling pension funds to tokenize assets can help farmers access credit, and the rails facilitating institutional settlement can deliver humanitarian aid directly to refugees. As builders, our responsibility extends beyond technological capability to purposeful implementation, ensuring that institutional adoption strengthens rather than supplants financial inclusion efforts. We must design systems that leverage institutional resources to extend access rather than create new barriers. The infrastructure for borderless, frictionless value transfer is ready, regulatory frameworks are evolving, and institutional adoption is accelerating. Our success will be measured not just by efficiency gains in existing systems but by how many people we bring into economic participation for the first time. The choice we make today determines whether blockchain becomes another tool serving the already-served or the bridge finally connecting everyone to the global economy. Both institutions and the unbanked are counting on us to get this right.