WTF IS ORCHESTRATION (OR CLEARING) (OR SETTLEMENT)

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Orchestration (coordinating between parties), clearing (reconciling who owes what), and settlement (actual fund transfers) evolved in traditional finance to coordinate transactions across networks of intermediaries maintaining separate ledgers. Crypto's multi-chain reality has recreated the same coordination challenges that shaped traditional finance, despite blockchain's promise of instant settlement on a single shared ledger. The opportunity lies in rebuilding these functions through smart contracts, cryptographic proofs, and programmable liquidity rather than institutional intermediaries, creating systems that are more performant, upgradeable, and transparent to handle crypto's expected orders-of-magnitude higher velocity of money.