‘DeFi Is Dead,’ Says Maple CEO, Predicting $50 Trillion Stablecoin Surge Will Swallow Wall Street

PRISM Insight

Maple Finance CEO Sid Powell's thesis marks a pivotal shift in the crypto narrative from speculative assets to financial infrastructure. The key takeaway isn't 'Wall Street vs. Crypto,' but rather 'Wall Street running on a crypto OS.' For investors, this signals a need to look beyond which token will pump next and focus on the infrastructure players. The real, sustained value may be captured not just by holding assets, but by owning the rails—the stablecoin issuers, onchain credit protocols, and settlement networks poised to become the plumbing for the future of finance.

“DeFi is dead.” That’s the provocative declaration from Sid Powell, the CEO and co-founder of onchain credit market Maple Finance. But it’s not an obituary. Instead, he argues it’s the end of decentralized finance as a separate category, predicting all capital market activity will eventually move onchain and become indistinguishable from traditional finance (TradFi).

In an interview with CoinDesk, Powell laid out a bold vision for the coming years, forecasting that the DeFi market cap could reach $1 trillion. The catalyst, he says, will be a surge in stablecoin payments, which he predicts will process an astonishing $50 trillion in transactions in 2026, eclipsing major card networks.

The Internet Revolution, but for Finance

“In a couple of years, institutions won’t distinguish between DeFi and TradFi at all,” Powell explained, comparing the shift to the internet’s impact on commerce. Just as e-commerce became the default way to shop, onchain finance will become the underlying technology layer on which global markets operate.

In this future, DeFi isn't a niche alternative; it's the invisible plumbing. Powell's claim that “DeFi is dead” means it will have succeeded so thoroughly that it becomes the base infrastructure, used without a second thought, much like the internet protocols that power daily life today.

The Real Engine: Tokenized Private Credit

While tokenized treasuries have captured headlines, Powell identifies a different engine for this growth: tokenized private credit. He predicts that the world’s largest capital allocators—sovereign wealth funds, pension managers, insurers, and major asset managers—will become the primary holders of this new “onchain paper.”

This institutional adoption will be the force that truly merges the two worlds. However, Powell notes that a proper regulatory framework must be established before this full-scale pivot occurs.

The $50 Trillion Catalyst

Powell's most aggressive prediction centers on the explosive growth of stablecoins. The driving force, he argues, is a powerful economic incentive for small businesses and merchants. Retailers currently pay 2-3% of their revenue to card networks like Visa and Mastercard on razor-thin margins.

“Using stablecoins for settlement can significantly reduce this cost,” Powell stated. He believes this simple value proposition will fuel rapid adoption by merchants, which in turn will push neobanks and traditional banks to issue and support stablecoins directly. This trend is already in motion, with financial giants like PayPal (PYUSD), Société Générale, and Fiserv launching stablecoins, while Visa and Mastercard build out settlement rails.

If Powell’s vision materializes, the so-called death of DeFi won't be a demise but a total absorption. The distinction between decentralized and traditional finance won’t just blur; it will dissolve into a new, singular market infrastructure built on blockchain technology.