Web3 vs. DeFi/DePIN
Samani’s comments came in his capacity as CEO of StarkWare and co-founder of Zcash Eli Ben– Cryptocurrencies are facing an “identity crisis,” with institutional adoption rising while many early adopters are leaving, Sasson said.
In the same discussion, Samani framed Web3 as a fading flag while pointing to DeFi and DePIN as areas that still have clear use in the market.
The discussion also linked the shift to broader institutional participation, with the growth of the cryptocurrency industry in 2026 linked to ETFs, tokenized assets, stablecoins, and regulated finance companies.
Crypto banking risks
Banco de Bagos Internacionales (BPI) has warned that the expansion of “la cryptobanca” is no longer isolated and could threaten a global financial crisis if a high-risk parallel system collapses.
In its report issued on April 23, 2026, the BPI said that ambiguity and lack of regulation in digital asset lending and services have created an ecosystem that could undermine global economic stability.
BPI introduced and analyzed the concept of “multi-functional cryptocurrency intermediaries” (MCI), describing entities that have expanded beyond custody or exchange into lending and product production.
The report also pointed to contagion risks by recalling a series of events in 2022 involving Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and FTX, as losses at Alameda Research spread across the group.
DeFi Governance and Trust
But internal fractures at Aave included BGD Labs announcing in February that it would not renew its contract beyond April 1, 2026, citing increased centralization around Aave Labs and a misleading presentation of Aave V3 performance.
The management conflict worsened after an incident that occurred on March 12, when a user tried to transfer a dollar amount50 million in EthUSDT and only recovered $36,000 after nearly empty liquidity pools caused the strike price to collapse.
In response to the dispute, founder Stani Kuleshov said the interface displayed high slippage warnings, while Mark Zeller on X argued that “users can fully enjoy the power of DeFi with 99% slippage.”
