2023 in Review: The Year of Convergence
AI exploded into the mainstream. BlackRock filed for a Bitcoin ETF. Tokenised Treasuries became DeFi's fastest-growing category. And the SEC went to war with the industry. 2023 was the year that AI, crypto, and traditional finance began converging — and the implications are just beginning to unfold.
2023 in Review: The Year of Convergence
If 2022 was the year of reckoning, 2023 was the year of convergence — the year when the separate threads I have been following for years began weaving together into a coherent picture.
AI went from a niche interest to the dominant technology narrative. ChatGPT and GPT-4 demonstrated that large language models are not a research curiosity but a general-purpose tool that will transform every knowledge-intensive industry. The AI race between OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Meta accelerated to a pace that surprised even the participants.
Crypto began its recovery — not through retail speculation but through institutional engagement. BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF filing signalled that the world's largest asset manager is ready to bring Bitcoin to its clients. Tokenised Treasuries grew from near zero to over $800 million, demonstrating that DeFi can serve real-world financial assets. And the Ripple ruling provided the first judicial pushback against the SEC's expansive interpretation of securities law.
Traditional finance continued its quiet migration onto blockchain infrastructure. JPMorgan's Onyx processed hundreds of billions in tokenised transactions. Franklin Templeton tokenised a money market fund. And a growing number of banks, asset managers, and payment companies began building on public blockchains.
The Convergence Thesis
The convergence I am describing is not metaphorical. It is structural. AI, crypto, and traditional finance are converging on shared infrastructure — and the products that emerge from this convergence will be fundamentally different from anything that exists today.
AI + Crypto: AI agents that transact autonomously on crypto rails. AI-powered compliance tools that monitor on-chain activity. AI systems that audit smart contracts and assess DeFi risk. The intersection is producing real products, not just theoretical possibilities.
Crypto + TradFi: Tokenised Treasuries in DeFi protocols. Institutional lending on Aave. Permissioned Uniswap pools for verified counterparties. The boundary between DeFi and traditional finance is dissolving — not through disruption but through integration.
AI + TradFi: AI-powered financial analysis, compliance, and customer service. Automated due diligence. Intelligent portfolio management. The productivity gains are immediate and measurable.
AI + Crypto + TradFi: The full convergence — AI agents managing tokenised portfolios on DeFi infrastructure, with compliance enforced by AI systems monitoring on-chain activity. This is not science fiction. The components exist today. The integration is beginning.
What I Got Right and Wrong
I got the AI trajectory right. My conviction since the OpenAI private beta in 2021 — that large language models would be transformative — has been validated beyond my expectations. GPT-4's capabilities exceeded what I thought was possible on the timeline.
I got the RWA tokenisation trajectory right. The convergence of DeFi and traditional finance through tokenised real-world assets is happening faster than I expected, driven by the practical reality that Treasury yields are more attractive than crypto-native yields.
I got the regulatory timeline wrong — again. I expected the SEC's enforcement campaign to produce legislative action in 2023. It did not. The political dynamics are moving, but more slowly than the industry needs. The spot Bitcoin ETF decision — expected in early 2024 — will be the next major regulatory milestone.
Looking Ahead
2024 will be defined by three events: the spot Bitcoin ETF decision, the Bitcoin halving, and the continued acceleration of AI capabilities. Each of these events has the potential to reshape the landscape. Together, they could produce the most consequential year in crypto since 2021 — but driven by fundamentals rather than speculation.
The convergence thesis will continue to develop. The infrastructure connecting AI, crypto, and traditional finance will mature. And the products that emerge from this convergence will begin to reach mainstream users — not as crypto products or AI products, but as financial products that happen to be built on the most advanced infrastructure available.
2023 was the year the threads converged. 2024 will be the year the convergence produces results. The infrastructure is ready. The institutions are engaged. And the technology — both AI and crypto — is more capable than it has ever been. The next chapter will be written by the builders who understand all three.