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[Recap] Hedera State of the Ecosystem Quarterly Call
By Reilly Decker
May 20, 2025
On May 7th, 2025, The Tie hosted the Quarterly Hedera State of the Ecosystem webinar featuring Sabrina Tachdjian (VP of Financial Markets, Hedera Foundation) and Alice Kim (Business Development Director, Hedera Foundation). Moderated by Sacha Ghebali (Chief Strategy Officer, The Tie), the webinar explored recent significant advancements within the Hedera ecosystem, including substantial growth in stablecoins, the strategic integration of tokenized money market funds, and key improvements in collateral mobility.
Stablecoin Growth: Foundation for DeFi Expansion
Since early 2025, Hedera has experienced impressive growth in on-chain liquidity, with the market capitalization of stablecoins on Hedera increasing by 150%. This rapid rise is attributed to improved infrastructure for on-and-off-ramp transactions, heightened institutional engagement, and increasingly clear global regulatory environments. Alice elaborated on how stablecoins, notably USDC, have been instrumental in enriching liquidity pools on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as SaucerSwap and Heliswap. Enhanced liquidity has not only improved trading efficiency but has also strengthened lending platforms like Abono Finance, while facilitating sophisticated DeFi applications, including synthetic assets and cross-chain functionalities.
Institutional Momentum and Ecosystem Growth
Sabrina pointed to growing institutional interest as a major catalyst driving the Hedera ecosystem forward, particularly within stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization. Recent integrations, such as compliant token standards from Zonix (ERC-7518) and Tokeny (ERC-3643), highlight this institutional shift. These standards not only streamline regulatory compliance but also enhance asset portability, significantly boosting adoption.
Alice further emphasized strategic initiatives aimed at expanding stablecoin utility, including broader global support from centralized exchanges and improved fiat on-ramps, both of which have noticeably increased usability and liquidity within the ecosystem.
Tokenized Money Market Funds: Bridging Institutional and Retail Investors
Sabrina discussed Hedera’s strategic investment into Archax’s tokenized Fidelity International's USD Money Market Fund. She described how tokenizing traditionally institution-focused financial instruments enhances market access, reduces entry barriers, and accelerates settlement processes. Sabrina also emphasized how tokenized money market funds offer tangible benefits to stablecoin ecosystems by enabling swift and automated redemption procedures, making yield-bearing stablecoin products more accessible to both institutional and retail users.
Archax notably integrates tokenized financial products from major global asset managers such as State Street, Fidelity International, and LGIM, collectively representing trillions in managed assets. The Hedera Foundation actively collaborates with these institutions, facilitating their integration, enhancing their visibility within the ecosystem, and supporting robust cross-platform distribution and collaboration.
Collateral Mobility: Unlocking Institutional Liquidity
Alice highlighted the importance of collateral mobility across both traditional finance and decentralized finance sectors, underscoring how enhanced asset flexibility significantly reduces capital inefficiencies. She explained that Hedera’s unique hashgraph consensus mechanism facilitates effective collateral mobility through its low fees, high throughput, and equitable transaction ordering. Additionally, Alice emphasized how the Hedera Token Service (HTS) plays an essential role by providing built-in compliance features. These tools enable regulated institutions to safely tokenize, manage, and utilize assets efficiently across multiple platforms and jurisdictions.
Looking Ahead: Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships
Sabrina reiterated Hedera’s ongoing commitment to expanding its tokenized asset offerings, notably in real estate through partnerships with platforms like Red Swan. Additionally, the Hedera’s open-source asset tokenization studio continues to expand, incorporating more asset types and regulatory frameworks, while the stablecoin studio supports compliant stablecoin issuances around the globe.
Both Alice and Sabrina expressed excitement about the emerging opportunities at the intersection of artificial intelligence and fintech, highlighting expected innovations in agent-driven payments and automated portfolio management as significant future trends.
Conclusion
The webinar concluded on an optimistic note, emphasizing Hedera’s growing momentum across stablecoins, institutional financial product integrations, and advanced collateral management solutions. With strengthened institutional adoption, improved infrastructure, and clearer regulatory frameworks globally, Hedera is strongly positioned to influence and expand the future of decentralized finance and institutional blockchain applications.
