TradFi, DeFi are like ‘two worlds’ converging: Zignaly co-founder

Abdul Rafay Gadit made a move that is still seldom done in the banking world: He jumped from traditional finance, or TradFi, to decentralized finance, or DeFi.

TradFi is highly regulated and emphasizes protecting consumers. Yet, it can be slow, costly, and restricted to money movers with access to banking services. With DeFi, anyone with internet access can participate. And while it’s generally faster and more accessible, it carries risks such as smart contract bugs, hacking, and little to no regulation.

“I believe we’re at a pivotal moment where the two worlds are beginning to converge,” Gadit tells crypto.news.

After spending six years in corporate banking at Standard Chartered, Gadit launched Zignaly (ZIG) in 2018. Since then, the platform amassed over 500,000 users and 150-plus portfolio managers. It also has a decentralized blockchain called ZIGChain in the works.

Read on for Gadit’s thoughts about the latest trends in social trading and how it can bridge the divide between TradFi and DeFi.

How have your experiences in TradFi influenced your approach to ZIGChain?

Gadit: My transition from corporate banking to blockchain was driven by a desire to innovate and challenge the traditional financial systems I had been part of for six years. Working at Standard Chartered gave me deep insight into the inefficiencies and limitations within traditional finance, especially regarding accessibility, transparency, and opportunities for wealth generation.

Blockchain presented an entirely new paradigm — one that empowers individuals to control their assets, make decentralized decisions, and participate in open financial ecosystems. Co-founding Zignaly allowed me to bring my banking background into action, focusing on creating a platform where everyone, regardless of their background, could invest alongside experienced traders and benefit from the opportunities in web3.

My experiences in traditional finance significantly influenced our approach. We aimed to take the best practices from the banking world — like risk management, compliance, and user protection — and merge them with the innovation and openness of blockchain. Our goal was to create an infrastructure that enables wealth generation in a more democratized, transparent, and accessible way for all users.

What is your long-term vision for ZIGChain?

Our long-term vision is to create a robust, scalable Layer 1 blockchain that powers a truly decentralized wealth generation ecosystem — a platform where builders, fund managers, and users can collaborate to create and utilize next-generation DeFi tools, dApps, and infrastructure that promote financial inclusion and wealth creation.

Our goal is to not only drive adoption but also establish ZIGChain as a cornerstone of the web3 financial landscape — where builders, fund managers, and users alike can thrive in a transparent, secure, and high-performance environment. With the backing of industry leaders and a clear focus on sustainability and innovation, we’re well-positioned to make this vision a reality.

ZIGChain launched a $100-million ecosystem development fund in August. Where will that capital go?

The $100 Million Ecosystem Fund — backed by DWF Labs, UDHC Finance, and Disrupt — is critical to realizing our vision. We plan to deploy these funds to attract top-tier developers and projects, offering them the resources and support needed to build innovative tools natively on ZIGChain. This funding will help accelerate the growth of our ecosystem by fostering innovation, expanding our infrastructure, and creating incentives for key participants.

What are the most significant challenges in managing such a large social investment platform?

One of the key challenges we’ve faced with Zignaly is the limited access to asset classes. As of now, fund managers on our platform can only invest in tokens listed on centralized exchanges, which restricts the investment opportunities available to our users. However, with ZIGChain, we’re opening the doors to a much broader range of assets, including DeFi, real-world assets, NFTs, perpetual contracts, and tokens across multiple chains. This flexibility not only offers fund managers more options but also creates more diverse and profitable investment strategies for our users, ultimately increasing yield potential.

We’ve also encountered limitations within centralized finance, or CeFi, such as mandatory KYC processes and restricted access based on users’ nationality. These requirements can limit the participation of global users and create scalability concerns. ZIGChain, being a decentralized blockchain, circumvents many of these barriers. It enables a more inclusive and scalable system that allows users to participate without the stringent restrictions often imposed by centralized platforms. This makes ZIGChain accessible to a broader audience, ensuring that we can scale the platform to meet the growing demand.

Another limitation we’ve faced on Zignaly is the reliance on CeFi traders. Currently, we’re limited to fund managers and traders within centralized exchanges, but with ZIGChain, we unlock a whole new realm of DeFi traders. This opens up access to innovative DeFi strategies and products that weren’t previously available on Zignaly. By tapping into the DeFi space, we can significantly improve yield potential for our users, increase overall profitability, and diversify revenue streams for the business. This not only enhances the user experience but positions ZIGChain as a more dynamic and adaptable platform in the ever-evolving web3 landscape.

Given your background in corporate banking, how do you see the intersection of TradFi and DeFi evolving?

My background in corporate banking has given me a unique perspective on the potential synergy between traditional finance and decentralized finance. I believe we’re at a pivotal moment where the two worlds are beginning to converge, and this intersection presents immense opportunities for innovation and financial inclusion.

TradFi has long been the backbone of the global economy, with established frameworks for risk management, compliance, and trust. However, it also comes with limitations—restricted access to wealth-generating opportunities, high barriers to entry, and slow innovation. DeFi, on the other hand, offers openness, inclusivity, and decentralization, providing users with direct control over their assets and access to a broader array of financial products like staking, lending, and tokenized real-world assets.

As this synergy evolves, I see traditional institutions increasingly integrating DeFi solutions to improve efficiency and offer new services to their clients. This could include everything from tokenized assets and decentralized lending to programmable smart contracts for automating complex financial processes.

By building an ecosystem that combines the security and regulatory rigor of TradFi with the innovation and transparency of DeFi, we can create a more accessible and flexible financial system. I envision a future where users seamlessly move between traditional and decentralized financial products, unlocking new opportunities for wealth creation and financial empowerment on a global scale.

Does Zignaly compete with other social investing platforms?

At Zignaly, we don’t see ourselves in direct competition with other social investing platforms. Instead, we focus on competing with our vision to continually evolve and expand access to fund management for everyone. Our goal is to democratize wealth generation, ensuring that anyone, regardless of their financial background, can connect with professional fund managers and access a broad range of asset classes.

While other platforms may limit themselves to centralized systems or traditional investment assets, we’re pushing the boundaries by integrating DeFi, RWAs, NFTs, and more through ZIGChain. Our mission is to break down the barriers that have long excluded people from managing their wealth and open up a world of opportunity where access to financial growth is no longer a privilege, but a right for all.

So, in essence, our biggest competition is our own ambition to redefine what’s possible in the world of decentralized finance and fund management

What trends do you foresee in social investing?

Over the years, we’ve seen a strong demand for transparency, performance-driven strategies, and diversified asset classes. The key trend we’re observing in social investing is a shift toward decentralized platforms and more innovative investment opportunities, especially as users become increasingly aware of the benefits of DeFi and tokenized assets.

In the coming years, I foresee a growing demand for personalized investment strategies, where users won’t just follow a portfolio manager based on their past performance but will have access to real-time, dynamic strategies tailored to individual risk profiles, preferences, and goals. We also expect more integration with decentralized asset classes offering users an unprecedented level of diversification.

How does one stay ahead of the web3 curve?

To stay ahead in the web3 space, we’re constantly innovating. With ZIGChain, we’re creating a platform that not only offers access to a much wider range of assets beyond centralized exchanges but also introduces features like automated, trustless smart contract-based fund management, which significantly enhances security and transparency. We’re also building our infrastructure to accommodate more DeFi portfolio managers, allowing them to bring strategies and tools to our users. This will not only improve profitability for our users but also attract a new generation of traders to the platform.

Our goal is to lead the way in the evolution of social investing by staying decentralized, offering access to new and diverse asset classes, and continuing to prioritize security, transparency, and user experience.