Steven Pu: Harvard’s $2B Fund Freeze Highlights Why Blockchain Is Not Yet Ready For Institutional Adoption
In Brief
The Trump administration’s funding freeze for Harvard sparked debate on financial resilience, with Steven Pu noting blockchain’s promise is limited by trust and adoption challenges.
Latest Donald Trump Administration’s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding for the Harvard University, with 60 more universities reportedly at risk, has intensified discussions about financial resilience.
The freeze demonstrated the vulnerability of even prestigious institutions to centralized control, in this case, the US government’s ability to restrict access to critical funding. Proponents of blockchain technology argue that decentralized financial systems could, in theory, help prevent or mitigate such actions.
While blockchain may appear to be the ideal solution on paper, it was not a prominent part of the conversation in this context.
Steven Pu, Co-Founder of Taraxa, believes that this situation reveals an important truth: blockchain technology is not yet ready for large institutions like Harvard—not because it lacks functionality, but due to ongoing gaps in adoption, transparency, and trust.
Steven Pu Advocates For Blockchain’s Role In Enhancing Institutional Transparency And Accountability Amid Trust Challenges
Steven Pu argued that decentralized blockchains could have potentially prevented such a funding freeze, noting that while blockchains have the capacity to address such issues, they have not yet earned the level of trust needed for widespread adoption. Many institutions, including Harvard, continue to operate in environments that are highly conservative and risk-averse. Transitioning from centuries-old financial systems to blockchain technology, which is still relatively new and, arguably, chaotic, requires not only a technical shift but also bureaucratic and cultural adjustments.
Additionally, the blockchain industry has not helped its case. There has been a greater emphasis on promoting inflated transaction performance numbers rather than demonstrating actual functionality. The claim of “1 million transactions per second” has become more of a joke than a serious metric, with no substantial proof on mainnet to support it. Until there is a shift towards building systems that are secure, auditable, and capable of scaling, institutions are likely to continue relying on existing systems they know and trust.
In terms of transparency, Steven Pu stressed that it is not merely an ideal but a fundamental responsibility, particularly for institutions managing public or donor funds. Blockchain technology offers a level of auditability and integrity that legacy systems cannot provide. Once a transaction is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered without detection, which establishes a new standard for accountability.
However, the goal is not to completely replace existing financial systems. Rather, the potential lies in integrating blockchain into current infrastructures, offering institutions tools to provide publicly verifiable records, tamper-proof audits, and more effective oversight. Over time, such integration could lower operational risks, reduce compliance costs, and increase trust from stakeholders who are demanding greater transparency.
Realistic Blockchain Standards And Verified Infrastructure Are Essential To Gain Institutional Trust
Steven Pu further emphasized the necessary changes before reputable institutions can view blockchain as more than just a passing trend, suggesting that the focus should shift from promoting unrealistic visions to establishing standardized, achievable outcomes. Institutions prioritize real-world functionality over theoretical documents like whitepapers, and at this point, blockchain often appears to be dominated by inflated metrics and unsupported performance claims.
At Taraxa, a report was recently published showing that actual mainnet performance is often overstated by up to 20 times, a discrepancy that goes beyond a simple error and can be seen as a misleading omission of facts. Until standardized, real-world benchmarks are established and protocols are held accountable for their true capabilities, institutions will remain skeptical of blockchain’s claims. The lack of verified benchmarks and accountability has led to ongoing skepticism from institutions, which are right to question unverified promises.
In order to gain the trust of serious players, there is a need for a new standard of measurement, one that includes real benchmarks, publicly available metrics, and auditable claims. The delay in blockchain adoption is not due to technological failure, but rather the lack of trust in the claims made about it.
In regards to stablecoins, it was noted that they serve as a temporary fix rather than a long-term solution. While stablecoins facilitate payments, they do not address the core issue of the trust gap between institutions and the blockchain industry. The real opportunity lies in building decentralized financial systems that institutional players can integrate without sacrificing compliance, auditability, or security. This includes concepts like decentralized lending, automated compliance, programmable governance, and transparent asset management—systems built on infrastructure that is verifiable, not just marketed as such.
Currently, the blockchain infrastructure is compared to castles built on sand. Without credible and proven infrastructure, stablecoins risk becoming another speculative tool that does not provide a real solution. If the goal is to manage assets such as sovereign wealth or university endowments on the blockchain, what is needed is not clever tokenomics, but solid, reliable infrastructure that has been rigorously tested and proven.
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About The Author
Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
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Alisa, a dedicated journalist at the MPost, specializes in cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a keen eye for emerging trends and technologies, she delivers comprehensive coverage to inform and engage readers in the ever-evolving landscape of digital finance.
