Institutional Blockchain Adoption Hindered by Legal Concerns Despite Technical Readiness

Blockchain infrastructure is now capable of supporting institutional use, according to Austin Federa, the founder of DoubleZero Labs and former head of strategy at Solana. Speaking at the Token2049 event, Federa emphasized that high-performance blockchains like Solana are technically equipped to handle large-scale institutional adoption. However, he noted that legal teams at major firms are still cautious about fully integrating the technology.

Federa highlighted that while the technical infrastructure is in place, institutional lawyers and compliance teams are still grappling with regulatory concerns. This hesitation, despite growing regulatory clarity in key markets, may slow down the adoption of blockchain technology by institutions. He explained that institutions are generally slow to adopt new technologies, and until legal departments are fully satisfied with risk controls and compliance structures, meaningful adoption may unfold gradually.

Federa also pointed out a growing trend of institutional participation in the crypto infrastructure space. He mentioned that bare-metal infrastructure providers and venture capital firms have started offering financial support and contributing actual fiber infrastructure to projects like DoubleZero. This level of commitment from traditional finance players reflects a shift in how the sector views the crypto industry. However, Federa acknowledged that while institutional adoption has grown, the broader crypto product landscape isn’t fully mature yet.