Welcome to another edition of Crypto Decrypted, our regular update about what’s happening in the crypto world.
We’ve been focused on Bitcoin for the past few months, and with the Covid-19 rollercoaster, unprecedented markets and the Halvening occurring in May, there has been quite a bit to discuss. I’d now like to turn to the rest of the crypto world, as there are many other crypto asset classes that are worth exploring. Until now, most of them were shunned (well, by some all have been shunned), however we’re now seeing crypto assets work their way into the public and private sector.
In this update, I wanted to pull perspectives from government and industry and how they are viewing the marketplace that we are so passionate about. I’ve taken information from a number of sources including Forbes, PayPal and Deloitte’s C-Suite briefing and noted the most salient points below, but have included to sources for those that really want to dig in. Enjoy!
FED’S ACTING-COMPTROLLER WANTS BLOCKCHAIN AT BANKS
You know from my previous updates that Brian Brooks, in April, was appointed COO of the office of Comptroller of Currency. What you may not know is that he has now taken on the role of Acting Comptroller. This recent Forbes article cites that the nation’s top regulator is not only bullish on bitcoin but the entire space. Mr. Brooks is noted as praising blockchain technology and the impact decentralized technology will have, specifically citing Ethereum (among others) as a platform that will add value. He has even gone so far as to propose a rewrite of regulations that would include how blockchain technologies could be incorporated into banking digital operations. That bears repeating. The controller of the United State of America wants to see blockchain technology in banking operations. I don’t think I can overstate the vote of confidence that this is and how important this is for the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain.
DELOITTE: 2020, THE START OF THE DECADE OF BLOCKCHAIN
Meanwhile Deloitte, in its C-Suite Briefing for Blockchain Trends stated that the “hype is over” with EMEA Blockchain Director Antonio Senatore quoted as saying, “This is the beginning of the decade of blockchain and I think in 2020, we’ll start to see the global recognition of crypto assets in the FS industry.” It continues to discuss industries beyond finance that have immediate value in using blockchain platforms which include life science, healthcare, farming & supply chain, and identifies platforms such as Ethereum, Hyperledger, VeChain and Corda as being positioned to dominate their respective spaces. Importantly, the briefing also notes that we are moving into a world of tokenized assets (digital assets), which they define as something “represented in a digital form that has an intrinsic or acquired value.” These assets can include land, goods, certificates, identity, art, currency and many others. Indeed, from the perspective of Deloitte, we’re preparing to enter a token economy that can touch virtually any sector.
PAYPAL GOES CRYPTO
Finally, in the world of adoption, PayPal just announced that they would be offering their clients the ability to directly buy and sell crypto, possibly within the next three months. I want to point out that they state buying and selling crypto not just bitcoin, and their CTO Sri Shivananda is quoted saying, “We are a strong believer in the potential of blockchain. The digitization of currency is only a matter of when not if.” That’s powerful coming from PayPal and will send waves throughout the financial sectors. Adoption has always been one of the barriers to advancement and PayPal along with subsidiary Venmo combine for a whopping 377 million active accounts as of Q1 2020 across business and personal sectors. This is 377 million individuals and organizations that will be able to quickly and easily access cryptocurrency via an interface that they already know and trust. This is a major step toward adoption.
SUMMARY – THE AGE OF AUTONOMY IS INDEED UPON US
So, we now have the US Government, a global consulting firm, and a fin-tech giant all beating the crypto asset drum. This is not just bitcoin mind you, but the encompassing crypto assets which includes platforms, currencies, stablecoins, tokenized assets and more.
Moving into a world of crypto assets has been our founding thesis at Tradecraft Capital – namely that that we are now in a few financial paradigm, the “Age of Autonomy.” This is the reason that Tradecraft Crypto Asset Fund invests in more than just bitcoin; we invest in select crypto assets that will change the world. We pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve, and it certainly is validating to see this movement and endorsement by industry leaders.
As always, please reach out with any questions, stay safe, and we’ll continue to Decrypt: Crypto for you!