Morgan Stanley exec: Traditional finance will absorb DeFi in 5 years

Jed Finn, head of Morgan Stanley's Wealth Management division, predicted that DeFi will be treated like traditional finance within five years, causing the term "DeFi" itself to disappear. Speaking at the Consensus 2026 conference, he explained that traditional finance will ultimately absorb the DeFi sector. Finn also announced a new crypto-related product from Morgan Stanley. The offering will allow clients to transfer cryptocurrency held on external platforms into their Morgan Stanley accounts, convert it into an ETF, and then take out loans against the ETF without selling the underlying assets. He noted that this structure enables clients to access liquidity without triggering a taxable event.