Wall Street finally "shows its hand": issuing a 13-page "declaration of war".

TradFi, the old guard on Wall Street, has finally dropped the pretense.

For the past few years, while criticizing DeFi as the "Wild West," they've been secretly researching blockchain technology. Now, the crucial showdown has arrived—they acknowledge that "tokenized US stocks" are the future, but on the condition that they lead this future.

On December 4th, Citadel Securities, a major US market maker, submitted a 13-page letter to the SEC, its strong stance a veritable "declaration of war" on the existing DeFi model. Simultaneously, HSBC's latest research report echoed this sentiment, pointing to the ultimate direction of regulation.

The core subtext of these two documents is strikingly consistent: blockchain technology is good, and we should all use it; but the "decentralized" approach of DeFi must be "reshaped."

Citadel's Overt Strategy Who is Citadel? It's the largest market maker in the US stock market, a behemoth that controls the lifeline of US retail trading. Why is it suddenly attacking DeFi? Because it's in a hurry. With the rise of the concept of "tokenized US stocks," if everyone trades Apple and Tesla stocks on-chain in the future, how will brokerages, market makers, and other intermediaries make money? In its 13-page filing with the SEC, Citadel bluntly stated three core points: "Code is not a shield": Whether your transactions are automated by smart contracts or manually matched, if you provide trading functionality, you are an "exchange." "Reject privileges": DeFi should not enjoy "innovation exemptions." Whatever rules Citadel follows, decentralized exchanges like Uniswap must follow (KYC, anti-money laundering, registration as brokers). "Technological neutrality": We support blockchain technology, but oppose "regulatory arbitrage." This approach is very precise. Citadel understands that if existing DeFi protocols are forced to register and undergo KYC like those on the NYSE, they will completely lose their core advantages of low cost and barrier-free access, thus facing an existential crisis. Don't mistake Citadel for a champion of market fairness. If you examine its investment portfolio, you'll discover a fascinating display of double standards. While loudly questioning the non-compliance of DeFi, he is simultaneously investing heavily in crypto assets and companies that "embrace regulation": Buying infrastructure: Leading investment in Ripple (valued at $40 billion) and heavily betting on Kraken (valued at $20 billion). He is aggressively betting on leading companies that embrace regulation. Buying assets: He has even been revealed to hold $600 million worth of shares in Solana Vault (DFDV). Competing for business: He has explicitly stated his intention to become a Bitcoin liquidity provider. Do you understand? Citadel isn't trying to stop the development of the crypto market; he's trying to stop the development of a crypto market "outside his control." His attacks on DeFi are essentially a cleanup of the market—squeezing out DEXs, which he sees as "unregulated," and letting his invested "compliant army" take over the battlefield. What he wants isn't decentralization; he wants a "regulated franchise." The "Definition Power" Battle: Why is there such a fierce conflict between TradFi (traditional finance) and DeFi (decentralized finance) at this time? Because the "tokenized US stock market" pie is too big. This is an opportunity to move the multi-trillion-dollar stock market onto the blockchain. Whoever controls the definition of the infrastructure controls the future of finance. Code is law, decentralization reduces costs, and regulation should adapt to technology.