Morgan Stanley's head of digital asset markets says DeFi is poised to keep its momentum in 2021

DeFi • December 18, 2020, 12:23PM EST

Morgan Stanley's head of digital asset markets says decentralized finance (DeFi) isn't going away in the coming year.

For now, Morgan Stanley has noted the so-called explosion of DeFi, according to Andrew Peel.

"I would say an evolution of this current momentum in terms of significant interest in the topic will continue through 2021," he said during The Block's Developing a Digital Asset Strategy panel.

Perhaps it'll move so quickly, he quipped, that the space will run out of food-based names next year. Regardless, he said the evolving technology will likely be applied to more traditional settings in the next two years.

"I think some of the technology from this DeFi phase will certainly be utilized in some more regulated way throughout 2021 towards 2022," he said.

He touted the programmable features of the technology as a way to rethink digital financial infrastructure, but did not specify which areas he sees DeFi disrupting in the coming years.

Listen to the panel discussion below:

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to akeely@theblock.co or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.