Crypto’s mainstream moment has arrived, industry leaders say

What was once viewed as a speculative fringe movement is rapidly becoming part of the world’s financial plumbing, according to executives from Binance, Revolut and Circle (CRCL) speaking at Consensus Miami on Wednesday.

“We were in the Prohibition era,” said Rachel Conlan, chief marketing officer at Binance. “Now we are in the infrastructure phase.”

Conlan said crypto is evolving beyond trading into functional everyday use cases and is “on route to becoming the fabric of everyday society.”

That shift is increasingly visible in consumer finance. Mazen ElJundi, global business head of investments at Revolut, said crypto’s narrative has moved from speculation toward “real-life utility and scaling.”

Revolut, which operates in more than 40 countries and serves over 75 million customers, now integrates crypto into a broader suite of banking services including remittances and stablecoin usage. “Crypto is about banking without borders,” he said.

At Circle, SVP of marketing Tim Queenan said institutions are increasingly exploring how to move core financial infrastructure onchain. “The infrastructure should be boring,” he said. “What you build on top of it is what’s interesting.” Queenan pointed to stablecoins becoming so embedded in payments that many users no longer even think of themselves as crypto users.

The panelists said institutional momentum, from exchange traded fund (ETF) approvals to major asset managers putting money onchain, is reinforcing retail adoption globally.

But challenges remain. Conlan said the industry still needs to reduce friction and make onboarding easier.

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