In 1961, Popular Science magazine envisioned self-driving cars. The reality arrived sooner than anyone anticipated, before safety regulators could adapt, and autonomous vehicles brought new risks that legacy rules never considered. Banking is headed down the same road. And it’s being driven by the technology behind decentralized finance, or DeFi. But just as the original rules of the road protected us from other drivers, so our current bank regulations exist mainly to prevent human failings.