From TradFi to DeFi: Building the Future of Real World Assets with Centrifuge's Eli Cohen

Episode notes

In this episode of The Smart Economy Podcast, host Dylan Grabowski is joined by Eli Cohen, general counsel at Centrifuge, a platform for tokenized real-world assets. Join them as they discuss: The evolution from traditional finance to tokenized assets How T-Bills are being brought on-chain Building regulatory-compliant RWA infrastructure Designing DAO governance for financial protocols The future of on-chain institutional asset management Balancing innovation with compliance How Centrifuge aims to create efficient securitization processes And much more! With vast experience spanning traditional finance, market infrastructure, and cryptocurrency regulation, Eli brings a unique perspective to the intersection of RWAs and blockchain technology. His distinguished career includes roles at CME Group, where he helped launch Bitcoin futures in Asia-Pacific, Block.one, and various positions working with financial regulators across multiple jurisdictions. For the past three years at Centrifuge, Eli has been instrumental in developing compliant frameworks for bringing traditional financial assets onto the blockchain while navigating complex regulatory environments across global markets.