R3, the enterprise blockchain firm behind the Corda platform, has announced significant layoffs, prompting CEO David E. Rutter to publicly defend the company’s strategic focus on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and permissioned infrastructure while sharply criticizing decentralised finance (DeFi). In an interview with DL News, Rutter framed DeFi as largely unsuitable for institutional use, arguing that unregulated, anonymous systems are not compatible with how wholesale finance and critical market infrastructure operate, and positioned CBDCs and regulated tokenised assets as the more realistic path for blockchain in finance. The comments come as R3 restructures amid a tougher funding and revenue environment for enterprise blockchain providers and ongoing delays in large-scale production deployments, especially in CBDC and bank-led tokenisation projects. Rutter defended R3’s long-term bet on working closely with central banks, commercial banks and market infrastructures, highlighting ongoing CBDC and digital money pilots on Corda, and contended that regulation-first, identity-aware systems will ultimately dominate over permissionless DeFi for core financial markets. The intervention underscores the widening philosophical and business divide between enterprise/permissioned blockchain companies and DeFi projects, at a time when regulators are tightening scrutiny of crypto markets and central banks are still deciding how aggressively to pursue CBDCs.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources β€” not editorial content.

More coverage

Explore the topic

More on DeFi

Variant leads seed round for Tenor, a decentralized finance protocol focused on fixed-income lending

Variant leads seed round for Tenor, a decentralized finance protocol focused on fixed-income lending

𝕏/@TenorFinance Β·

Fluid rebrands itself as a unified liquidity layer aimed at connecting decentralized finance protocols

Fluid rebrands itself as a unified liquidity layer aimed at connecting decentralized finance protocols

𝕏/@0xfluid Β·

eToro invests in Extended, partners with Zengo wallet to bridge traditional and decentralized finance

eToro invests in Extended, partners with Zengo wallet to bridge traditional and decentralized finance

𝕏/@extendedapp Β·

Ethereum Layer 2 Taiko finalizes post-exploit recovery with bridge reopening, confirming full network restoration as a detailed post-mortem nears release

Ethereum Layer 2 Taiko finalizes post-exploit recovery with bridge reopening, confirming full network restoration as a detailed post-mortem nears release

𝕏/@TheBlockCo Β·

DeFi protocol Goldfinch backed by Coinbase Ventures and a16z, used social trust for uncollateralized loans to businesses in Africa and Asia, promising around 10% yields. Morra lost most of his 2021-2022 deposits amid defaults and restructurings, with $53.8 million in troubled loans and an official 19.95% loss rate that he claims exceeds 70%.

DeFi protocol Goldfinch backed by Coinbase Ventures and a16z, used social trust for uncollateralized loans to businesses in Africa and Asia, promising around 10% yields. Morra lost most of his 2021-2022 deposits amid defaults and restructurings, with $53.8 million in troubled loans and an official 19.95% loss rate that he claims exceeds 70%.

𝕏/@edwardmorra_btc Β·

DefiLlama Research highlights how Starknet is reimagining privacy with the release of the STRK20 privacy token standard.

DefiLlama Research highlights how Starknet is reimagining privacy with the release of the STRK20 privacy token standard.

Defillama Β·

Explore the full feed

Comments

Up nextDubai's VARA grants Deribit broker-dealer license, connecting clients to Coinbase Exchange liquidity