La consolidación del poder de liquidación basado en cadenas de bloques y sus implicaciones para la asignación de activos criptográficos

The blockchain settlement layer landscape in 2025 is marked by a stark consolidation of power, with stablecoins and dominant protocols like Ethereum and Tron shaping the infrastructure for global digital asset activity. This centralization of settlement functions has profound implications for institutional investors, who must now navigate a market where monopolistic tendencies coexist with regulatory clarity and technological innovation. Strategic asset allocation in this environment requires a nuanced understanding of both the risks and opportunities posed by settlement-layer dominance.

Settlement Layer Consolidation: A New Monetary Paradigm

Stablecoins have emerged as the backbone of onchain activity, serving as a universal medium for payments,

trading, collateralization, and treasury operations according to research. Ethereum, with its security-first ethos and institutional-grade integrations, remains the dominant DeFi-native settlement layer as analysis shows. Meanwhile, Tron's high-throughput architecture continues to cater to stablecoin-driven exchange and payment flows, though it lacks the composability of DeFi ecosystems according to reports. This bifurcation-between Ethereum's composability and Tron's velocity-has created a two-tiered system where stablecoins act as both a monetary base and a working capital tool for high-velocity trading environments as research indicates.

Regulatory frameworks such as the U.S. GENIUS Act and the EU's MiCA have further solidified this consolidation by providing institutional participants with the legal certainty needed to scale operations according to policy analysis. These frameworks have also accelerated the entry of traditional financial institutions into crypto, with banks and asset managers now issuing, custodying, and trading stablecoins and tokenized assets as industry reports show. The result is a market where settlement layers are not just technical infrastructure but also strategic battlegrounds for control over liquidity and capital flows.

Institutional Strategies in a Monopolistic Landscape

Institutional investors have responded to this consolidation by redefining their asset allocation strategies. By 2025, the average institutional allocation to digital assets had reached nearly 10% of total AUM, with projections indicating this could double within three years according to State Street data. Bitcoin and Ethereum remain core holdings, with 27% of institutional respondents citing Bitcoin as their primary returns generator and 21% attributing similar returns to Ethereum according to survey results. This preference is driven by their role as both store-of-value assets and settlement-layer primitives, particularly in environments where monetary and fiscal risks are rising as industry analysis shows.

However, the concentration of settlement power has also prompted institutions to adopt countermeasures. For example, Standard Chartered and FalconX have partnered to embed decentralized solutions into traditional financial frameworks, enabling secure and scalable access to digital assets as business reports indicate. Similarly, Citigroup and Coinbase have collaborated to build infrastructure for fiat-stablecoin exchanges, reducing reliance on any single settlement layer according to industry analysis. These strategies emphasize operational resilience and transparency, ensuring that institutional portfolios are not overly exposed to the risks of monopolistic control.

Strategic Allocation: Balancing Yield, Liquidity, and Risk

The rise of digital asset treasuries (DATs) has further diversified institutional strategies. Ethereum treasuries, in particular, have demonstrated potential for non-dilutive returns through staking and DeFi-based yield strategies according to BIS research. This has led to a shift in portfolio construction, where stablecoins and tokenized assets are no longer seen as speculative tools but as regulated instruments for liquidity management and yield generation as BIS analysis shows.

Active management techniques-such as arbitrage, sector rotation, and volatility targeting-have also gained prominence as investors seek to exploit inefficiencies in a fragmented market according to BIS research. For instance, the proliferation of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) has created new avenues for diversification, with institutions leveraging blockchain's transparency to access previously illiquid markets as industry reports indicate. At the same time, Bitcoin's role as a hedge against monetary policy uncertainty has been reinforced by its inclusion in spot ETFs, with products like BlackRock's IBIT attracting $100 billion in assets under management according to market data.

The Path Forward: Regulatory and Technological Catalysts

The next phase of institutional adoption will likely be shaped by two forces: regulatory evolution and technological innovation. The repeal of SAB 121 and the passage of the GENIUS Act have already normalized digital assets as a legitimate asset class according to industry analysis, but further harmonization of global standards will be critical to mitigating jurisdictional risks. Institutions are also investing in cross-border solutions, such as HSBC's blockchain-based B2B settlement platform with Ant International as business reports indicate, to bypass centralized gatekeepers and reduce settlement friction.

For investors, the key takeaway is clear: a settlement-layer monopoly is not an inevitability but a dynamic that can be navigated through strategic diversification, regulatory alignment, and technological integration. While Ethereum and stablecoins will likely remain dominant, the emergence of tokenized RWAs, DATs, and cross-chain infrastructure offers a counterbalance to monopolistic tendencies.

Conclusion

The consolidation of blockchain settlement power in 2025 has redefined the rules of crypto asset allocation. Institutions are no longer passive observers but active participants in shaping the infrastructure that underpins digital finance. By leveraging decentralized partnerships, regulatory clarity, and active management strategies, investors can position themselves to thrive in a market where settlement layers are both a challenge and an opportunity. As the next wave of innovation unfolds, the ability to balance yield, liquidity, and risk will determine which institutions emerge as leaders in this new era.