The opening panel at Sibos 2025 delivered a clear message: public and permissioned blockchain networks are converging, and this integration is beginning to shape the future of financial infrastructure.
Hosted by Adi Ben Ari of Applied Blockchain, the discussion included Citi, Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust, and Ubyx Inc. and leaders of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. The panel examined how institutions are approaching open networks and why adoption is accelerating.
Below is a brief summary of the key insights.
1. Public blockchain is now an active market.
Tony McLaughlin started by reconstructing the conversation. Public networks like Ethereum and Solana are not experimental technologies. It is an active place where customers already hold and trade assets.
Thus, institutions do not choose among abstract systems. They are deciding whether to serve their customers on platforms they already operate on. Seeing funds moving from banks to exchanges or chain assets reflects customer demand for this environment.
2. Hybrid architecture is becoming the standard.
Citi’s Biswarup Chatterjee pointed out that companies are increasingly operating on a model where public infrastructure supports broad participation while private and permissioned areas provide trust and confidentiality.
He described this controlled environment as a safe zone. This allows institutions to maintain verified identities, privacy, and sensitive processes while also enjoying the benefits of a public ecosystem. Public and private are no longer considered separate technologies. They are part of the same system.
3. Public infrastructure has reached enterprise maturity.
Daniela Barbosa highlighted how enterprise adoption has changed as developers push for open systems and the benefits become more clear. Public networks provide liquidity, global access, and lower operating costs compared to consortium systems that require institutions to maintain their own infrastructure.
She also highlighted advances in interoperability and privacy technologies. Rapid improvements in zero-knowledge technology and confidential computing are making public networks increasingly viable for regulated financial activities. Regulators and central banks are now active participants in Linux Foundation working groups, reflecting the increasingly close collaboration between innovators and policymakers.
4. Redwan Meslem: Neutrality, elasticity and liquidity explain change
Redwan Meslem, representing the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, has laid out a concise framework for understanding why enterprises are leaning toward public systems.
Neutrality is important because private networks can recreate the closed silos that already exist in traditional finance. Public systems operate on shared, vendor-neutral rails.
Resilience is proven throughout Ethereum’s history. It has been in operation for 10 years, has undergone 16 major upgrades, and successfully transitioned to proof-of-stake with no downtime. Because thousands of independent teams maintain it, the network has no central operator or single point of failure.
Liquidity is a decisive advantage. Market depth, payment activity, and configurability already exist on public networks. Institutions seeking to optimize financial flows cannot replicate that environment on an isolated private chain.
5. Layer 2 networks provide privacy and performance while maintaining liquidity.
Redwan also highlighted the practical changes that can be achieved with Layer 2 networks. Businesses can now operate in a semi-private environment with higher performance and privacy controls while remaining connected to the liquidity of Ethereum.
This creates a viable path for regulators who need to protect privacy but cannot isolate it from the broader market.
6. User behavior pulls institutions into the chain.
To demonstrate how expectations have changed, Redwan shared a direct example. He borrowed ETH using DeFi protocols at about 5% interest for a week to make payments. This process took a few minutes.
This is why users are adopting decentralized finance. It’s fast, flexible and programmable. Institutions are reacting to this behavior rather than driving it.
7. Stablecoins and interoperability are accelerating adoption
Daniela noted that stablecoins have become a functional form of tokenized money and that interoperability frameworks have improved enough to support multiple network connections. Both trends are pushing companies further into open ecosystems.
8. Wallets are becoming the primary user interface
The session concluded with forward-looking observations from Tony McLaughlin. As tokenized currencies become more common across multiple chains, customers will interact through wallets rather than traditional bank accounts. The competitive advantage will shift to those who provide a secure and diverse wallet experience.
conclusion
Throughout the debate, the signals were clear. Public and permissioned networks are converging. Agencies no longer discuss whether to utilize public infrastructure. They are determining how to engage while meeting compliance, privacy, and customer expectations.
Ethereum’s neutrality, elasticity, liquidity, and mature tools position it as a central environment for this transition. Hybrid models that mix open foundations and permissioned controls define the next phase of enterprise adoption.
Public and private systems no longer move in different directions. They are becoming part of the same global financial architecture.