Private banking clients' yield challenges solved through DeFi collateralized lending

Ultra-wealthy individuals who have amassed vast fortunes through digital assets are facing the limitations of traditional banking systems. The solutions they seek involve maintaining flexible cash flow without selling their assets and achieving private banking-level yields. DeFi support services like Cometh, founded by Jérôme de Tichey, are bringing new approaches to this challenge.

Using digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and stablecoins as collateral, rapid and flexible lending methods are fundamentally transforming wealth management strategies for the affluent. The era has arrived where crypto assets, previously unmanageable by conventional private banks, are now being utilized as new financial tools.

Why DeFi Yield Products Are Reshaping the Private Banking Market

Imagine an investor who owns a main residence in Switzerland and a beach house in Miami, with total assets exceeding $10 million. Their dynamic needs include ski resort rights in St. Moritz, travel expenses for the Cannes Film Festival, and funds for yacht upgrades.

Traditional private banks typically provide Lombard-style loans secured by these real estate assets. However, processing can take up to 7 days and requires complex credit checks and tax audits.

In contrast, DeFi-collateralized loans are revolutionary. Loans backed by Bitcoin can be executed in just 30 seconds. They are automated via code rather than permissioned systems, sometimes even without requiring borrower identity verification. This presents a significant opportunity for private banking clients seeking higher yields to drastically reduce procedural costs.

However, risks remain due to digital asset price volatility. If collateral values surge, yields can increase; conversely, a sharp decline could trigger smart contracts to automatically liquidate collateral, posing potential dangers.

Asset Utilization Strategies for the Ultra-Wealthy: Yield from Crypto Assets

A 2025 survey indicates that the number of crypto millionaires worldwide has reached 241,700, a 40% increase year-over-year. Many of these wealthy individuals have limited networks with traditional banks. Since most of their assets are in crypto, private banks often do not recognize these as acceptable collateral for loans.

This is where sophisticated DeFi strategies targeting family offices play a crucial role. Companies like Cometh support the operation of complex DeFi tools, enabling even crypto-native non-wealthy individuals to access yield opportunities.

For example, simply extracting Ethereum tokens and depositing them into lending platforms like Aave to borrow stablecoins can seem complicated to crypto beginners. Cometh packages these DeFi yield products in an easy-to-understand manner, providing private banking-level services to this client segment.

Integration of Traditional Finance and DeFi: New ISIN-Based Products

An even more innovative development is Cometh’s exploration of ISIN (International Securities Identification Number)-based tokenization strategies. This allows direct access to DeFi strategies through accounts holding Tesla shares, for example, enabling new ways to leverage assets.

Traditional private banks have historically only handled conventional securities like stocks and bonds. Moving forward, these institutions will be able to apply DeFi yield-generation mechanisms to such assets. Jérôme de Tichey describes this as “the financialization of DeFi into traditional finance.”

Specifically, dedicated private debt products are being envisioned for investors holding securities accounts (titles accounts). By holding ISIN-based codes within specialized funds, a new era of access to customized private banking-level yield products is emerging.

Cometh plans to obtain one of the few MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) licenses in France in the second half of 2025, strengthening its strategic position. Regulatory developments will facilitate smoother collaboration with traditional financial institutions.

The private banking strategies of the ultra-wealthy are undergoing a fundamental transformation driven by the emergence of crypto assets as a new asset class. As they seek to balance yield pursuit with asset preservation, the era of leveraging new financial infrastructure through DeFi is undoubtedly arriving.