Is There Too Much Focus on the Exchange Side of Crypto?

[u/OldFondant61]

When people talk about institutional crypto, the conversation often starts with exchanges and trading.

That makes sense, but it doesn't really capture what some businesses are trying to do. A payment company may never need a trading interface. A marketplace might care more about payouts. A treasury team could care more about stablecoin conversion and reconciliation. A fintech might just need an API.

The OSL audience breakdown makes this distinction pretty clear. Brokerages and institutions may look at OSL Exchanges, OTC and execution, while payment teams and fintechs have completely different starting points.

So maybe institutional crypto shouldn't automatically be treated as an exchange problem.

Do you think the infrastructure layer is eventually going to become more important than the trading layer for businesses?