Imagine this: A Wall Street banker in a three-piece suit and a blockchain programmer in a hoodie meet in a cafe. The old gentleman's coffee cup exudes the scent of dollars, while the geek's mug is printed with the Bitcoin symbol—two groups that once gave each other the cold shoulder are now joining hands to rewrite the script of the financial world.

In the century-old trading hall of the New York Stock Exchange, cryptocurrency market screens have been integrated with traditional stock displays for the first time; the private banking team of Credit Suisse, which you are familiar with, has begun to allocate crypto assets for its clients; and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has started issuing licenses to compliant digital asset trading platforms—these seemingly contradictory scenarios are reshaping the fundamental rules of the global financial system. The deep integration of traditional finance and crypto finance is not only a manifestation of technological breakthroughs but also a historic transformation in the financial sector.

As the digital evolution of asset forms blurs physical boundaries, the progress of financial technology and the evolution of market demand are rapidly advancing the integration of traditional finance and crypto assets.

Why say this? According to the "Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report" published by AIMA and PwC, currently, 47% of hedge funds trading in traditional markets hold digital assets, up from 29% in 2023 and 37% in 2022. The survey found that among funds that have already invested in digital assets, 67% plan to maintain the same level of capital in the cryptocurrency sector. Although many hedge funds initially entered the cryptocurrency market by trading tokens in the spot market, they are now increasingly deploying more complex strategies. The most notable event is the approval of the Bitcoin ETF by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, marking an important step in the legitimization of Bitcoin as an investable asset class within the traditional financial framework. After this historic milestone broke down legal barriers, the bridge between digital assets and traditional finance was built, promoting a new investment landscape.

Many traditional institutions that you are familiar with are also participating in the crypto market in various ways. For example, Fidelity Investments provides digital asset custody services for pension funds, combining traditional vaults with blockchain technology for enhanced security; the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's Bitcoin derivatives trading volume has exceeded $8 billion; and BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has turned private equity funds that originally required a minimum of $1 million into financial Legos that can be split into digital tokens. And JPMorgan Chase, a 158-year-old financial institution, quietly issued its own cryptocurrency, JPM Coin.

Behind these magical collaborations, the financial world is undergoing a "digital metamorphosis." Just as paper stocks became electronic trading, now even the assets in bank vaults are being turned into codes recorded on the blockchain. Perhaps the next time your grandfather complains that "crypto is a scam," you can tell him, "But JPMorgan and BlackRock are playing in this!"

Now, the integration of crypto finance and traditional finance is entering a golden era, with market boundaries gradually blurring to form a more integrated and efficient global capital market. Under these developments, the inclusivity of financial services will be further enhanced.

From metal currency to paper money, from telegraphic transfers to blockchain settlements, each transformation in the financial system has been accompanied by intense conflicts. The integration of traditional finance and crypto finance is essentially an inevitable evolution in the digital economy era.