During ETHConf in New York City, Chainlink Labs’ newly appointed Head of Institutional and Market Development, Andrew McCormick, joined Jill Malandrino for a fireside chat about the journey from T+3 to T+0 and the inevitable path toward global tokenization.
After 15 years helping investors navigate the complicated regulatory infrastructure of traditional finance through roles at Morgan Stanley, E*Trade, and eToro, McCormick joined Chainlink to help architect the future of finance from the ground up.
“Chainlink Labs is not just another crypto company,” he said.
“It’s the connective infrastructure between traditional finance and blockchain. And when I see Chainlink Labs over the years working with firms like DTCC, UBS, and Swift, that’s a story I want to be a part of.”
He said bringing greater speed and efficiency to the global financial system through Chainlink’s decentralized oracle infrastructure ultimately boils down to giving people more freedom. The dream is to move beyond T+3 to T+1 and arrive at T+0.
“When you have a tokenized asset moving across platforms using Chainlink verification near-instantaneously, that’s a win for firms because they can reduce their risk and collateral requirements, and ultimately also for investors and users who can get the money they’ve worked hard for quicker.”
McCormick distilled his three-part role at Chainlink: helping firms like UBS, Swift, DTCC, and JP Morgan accelerate their blockchain adoption; onboarding firms that want to get started; and educating everyone from financial analysts to researchers about the scope of Chainlink’s impact.
He believes the influx of new roles devoted to institutional blockchain adoption, including his own at Chainlink Labs, is a sign that tokenization is here to stay.
“I love the word inevitable,” he said.
His three-pronged approach to realizing this future is regulatory clarity, institutional confidence, and industry education.
In terms of regulatory clarity, he believes long-awaited SEC guidance on how federal securities laws apply to crypto, including the forthcoming CLARITY Act, will be a watershed moment.
He also expects early institutional adoption will create a flywheel effect that empowers the entire space.
“Every time a firm like DTCC or Swift launches with Chainlink, it gives people confidence that this is something they can do.”
Meanwhile, the conversation around blockchain has shifted from confusion to skepticism to logistics.
“Now, instead of saying are we going to do this, firms are asking what are we going to do and when and how,” McCormick said. “So that education piece is going to be a huge unlock.”
He acknowledged Chainlink’s longstanding, loyal community for continuously upholding the vision for a better, more efficient onchain financial system.
“They get it,” he said.
“Chainlink is truly linking different blockchains together and traditional finance to blockchains. It’s the link of the system and it takes compliance and regulation very seriously. Our users and the network get it, and it’s amazing to see institutions starting to get that same story.”
Watch the full interview