EQONEX combines financial technology and traditional finance features to provide a platform in which investors can access cryptocurrencies in an environment that protects investors without sacrificing functionality.

EQONEX brings the core tenets of traditional finance to the innovative and fast-paced crypto markets. We offer full USD-USDC fungibility and will soon provide cross-collateralization and portfolio margining.

Innovation

The EQONEX team works closely with regulators from the world's largest financial markets. We are built with a focus on regulatory compliance, operating from Singapore with an exemption granted under the Payment Services Act provided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

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We are committed to fostering transparency and equality by increasing industry accountability. We do not market make on our own exchange, and all our reported volumes are the results of actual trades.

Transparency

The EQONEX Exchange combines financial technology and traditional finance features to provide a platform in which investors can access cryptocurrencies in an environment that protects investors without sacrificing functionality.

We provide digital asset custody that integrates physical and virtual security. Digivault, our FCA-approved custodian, combines multiple layers of protection to give institutions robust and tangible crypto solutions.

Bletchley Park is an independent asset manager that creates investment solutions for crypto assets. We adopt best practices from traditional fund management, leveraging the EQONEX ecosystem.

Our EMS platform is built for institutions. We have a broad range of exchange partners, two top-tier PMS partners, and there are no hidden fees.

Chris Ashe is currently Chief Technology Officer at EQONEX, leading the next stage in the evolution of EQONEX cryptocurrency exchange. Ashe has more than 20 years of experience in technology development and consultancy.

Previously, he was Chief Technology Officer at Mox Bank, where he took a lead role in managing board-level stakeholders and worked closely with regulators to ensure that the Mox platform was delivered.

In addition to this experience at Mox, Chris has worked on a range of world-class systems including Australia’s leading online banking platform (Netbank), a leading online stockbroking platform (CommSec), the largest background checking system (First Advantage) and one of the largest e-commerce stores (Peters of Kensington).

Chris is a law graduate with a Bachelor in Commerce and Science as well as a Bachelor in Computer Science and Information Systems from University of New South Wales, Australia.

Evelien van den Arend leads the regulatory compliance function across the EQONEX Group including the EQONEX cryptocurrency exchange and asset management. Evelien is accomplished compliance professional, with more than 15 years of experience leading compliance and regulation programs at financial services companies. Most recently Evelien spent two and a half years at crypto exchange Kraken managing their strategic initiatives and overseeing compliance and regulatory affairs. Prior to her role at Kraken, Evelien held a series of executive positions at CME Group including Senior Director of Legal & Regulatory Affairs for EMEA and Director of Legal and Regulatory (Trading) EMEA. Prior to that, Evelien was a Legal and Compliance Counsellor at Turquoise and a Legal and Regulatory Affairs Manager at Euronext.

Almira is the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for EQONEX with responsibility for leading the company’s business transformation strategy to leverage the synergies and maximize business opportunities created through its partnership with Bifinity. 

In her previous role, Almira served as Special Projects Lead for Bifinity where she was responsible for process improvements, project coordination and the development of new strategic partnerships. Before joining Bifinity, Almira was a Partner and Practice Lead at FTI Consulting with responsibility for the Global Risk and Investigations Practice in Europe and Africa. While at FTI Consulting Almira advised on high value technology transactions, and helped investors and corporates navigate existential and transformational challenges. Almira is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and completed the YGL Global Leadership modules at the University of Oxford Sa’id Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Yale University.

Vijay Selvam is General Counsel and heads the legal division.  Previously, he spent 10 years at Goldman Sachs in their New York, Hong Kong and Singapore offices, where he was Asia Pacific head of the Finance and Corporate Legal division, overseeing the legal set up and build-out of the firm’s structured notes and investment products business across 11 countries in Asia. 

Prior to this, he was a structured finance and derivatives lawyer at Davis Polk in New York, and prior to that, at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London.  Vijay is a New York State Attorney, a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales (Non-Practicing) and an Advocate of the Bar Council of India.  He holds law degrees from Harvard Law School and Oxford University, Trinity College.

Paul Ewing is the Chief Operating Officer at EQONEX. He has spent more than a decade working in Asia and was the former regional Chief Financial Officer at ICAP, as well as Chief Operating Officer for ICAP’s electronic broking division. Prior to EQONEX, Paul served as the Chief Financial Officer for a proprietary trading business with a focus on financial markets and digital assets. Paul is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales.

Daniel Ling joined the EQONEX Board of Directors in May 2022. Daniel is currently the Director of Strategy for Bifinity UAB (“Bifinity”). Daniel has more than 27 years of financial and risk management experience, having held various roles at Bridgewater Associates, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Singapore Exchange and ShoreVest Capital. Prior to joining Bifinity, Daniel served as the Chief Financial Officer of Pujiang International Group, a Hong Kong-listed technology-based manufacturing group. Daniel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and received his Master of Business Administration degree from Booth School of Business at University of Chicago.

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The Capitalise.ai platform will provide EQONEX traders with the ability to analyze and deploy a range of strategies that were previously only utilized by sophisticated, technical traders. The platform removes barriers for traders that may not have technical or coding skills, by enabling them to create and test trading scenarios using everyday English text commands. It also delivers alerts and insights on-the-go, provided by Capitalise.ai’s engine.

Capitalise.ai’s proprietary technology is based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing to turn English-based text rules entered by traders into custom algorithmic trading strategies that can automatically provoke alerts and be instantly executed.

EQONEX clients will receive free access to Capitalise.ai’s full suite of analytics and automated trading tools, including back-testing, trading bots, smart notifications and much more. Users will also be able to access Capitalise.ai’s mobile app for Android and iOS, so that they can stay in control of their trades 24/7, 365 days a year, and free themselves from sitting in front of the desktop.

“EQONEX is focused on meeting the discerning needs of experienced traders who are looking to unlock the potential of crypto markets through safe, reliable trade execution on a trusted exchange. We are excited to expand the benefits of our platform by offering the game-changing technologies offered by Capitalize.ai to empower our traders to upskill and optimize their trading strategies and performance,” said Andrew Eldon, Interim CEO of EQONEX.

Amir Shiovich, Capitalise.ai CEO & Co-Founder: “2022 has started beautifully for Capitalise, and as the online trading industry is booming, I expect things to look even better soon. I am delighted to welcome EQONEX on-board, and I am sure that they will find Capitalise valuable as much as our other partners do. We look forward to making a real impact on their traders’ habits and day to day lifestyle.”

Free access to Capitalize.ai is available to EQONEX customers by creating an account at Eqonex.capitalise.ai. 

Capitalise.ai and EQONEX join forces to provide automated crypto trading

From a range of disciplines and backgrounds from legal to technology and finance, these five major female leads contribute daily to making this space more inclusive and sustainable for all. Happy international women’s day to them and all the females working hard in crypto.

Wyoming Republican and U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has been a vocal advocate for Bitcoin over the years, calling it “freedom money” and claiming to own around a quarter of a million dollars’ worth, making her first purchase in 2013. Lummis is on a mission to introduce sensible regulation to the cryptocurrency industry and, as such, has been crowned the Senate’s “queen of crypto.”

When the proposal for the infrastructure bill came out last year, including a controversial crypto broker clause (a tax provision that could stifle the growth of the crypto industry in the U.S.) Lummis led the way, insisting on rewriting it, changing the language to exempt blockchain validators, protocol developers, and non-custodial hardware or software vendors from the definition.

And it’s not just that Bitcoin appeals to Lummis for her Wild West Wyoming roots. On the contrary, she wants to see further regulation in the space; but a clear framework to safeguard consumers, regulate stablecoins, and establish crypto taxation laws in a sensible and sustainable way.

Cathie Wood is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at ARK Invest, a global asset manager specializing in thematic investing in disruptive innovation. With Wood at the helm, ARK focuses on providing alternative solutions for those seeking long-term growth in the public markets and is heavily weighted to emerging tech. 

As CIO and Portfolio Manager, she has been a long-time advocate of Bitcoin, and, unsurprisingly, many of the companies that ARK invests in are blockchain technology companies. Founded in 2014 by Wood herself, the firm now manages assets of above $50 billion, and her flagship exchange-traded fund, ARK Innovation ETF, generated returns of 157% in 2020. 

Wood has been outspokenly bullish on Bitcoin over the years. Despite the number-one cryptocurrency’s sluggish start to the year, it retains an eyewatering price target for BTC at $1.36 million per coin by 2030.

When it comes to compiling a list of the most influential women in crypto, it’s impossible not to mention Elizabeth Stark, CEO, and co-founder of Lightning Labs, a company that builds open-source secure scaling solutions (the Lightning Network) for Bitcoin. 

Sending bitcoin (BTC) peer-to-peer is arguably the easiest way to transfer value around the world without the need for intermediaries. However, using the Bitcoin network can involve lengthy transaction times and substantial fees depending on the amount. BTC and other currencies can be sent instantly at a next-to-near cost using the Lightning Network. It’s already been integrated by several payment companies and the popular social media platform, Twitter.

The Lightning Network is also responsible for making BTC so accessible in El Salvador, allowing citizens to pay for goods and services and send remittances home without the hassle or expense involved in using Western Union. Thanks to Stark’s technology, the Lightning Network was instrumental in the country making BTC legal tender in 2021. Which countries will be next to follow El Salvador’s lead thanks to Stark’s brilliance?

As the founder of Lyn Alden Investment Strategy, Alden is a Bitcoin “OG” and has been providing invaluable investment research for more than 15 years in various public and private capacities. With a background at the intersection of engineering and finance, Alden’s analysis and expertise have been featured on all major news outlets, including cryptocurrency and mainstream media, and she is widely regarded as one of the best macro analysts out there today.

Long-term bullish on Bitcoin, Alden lends a different lens to the unbridled Bitcoin bulls by focusing on delivering realistic global macro analysis. She’s not afraid to call a bearish outlook for BTC in choppy markets even though her long-term thesis remains intact. 

Listening to Alden speak, it seems as if there’s nothing she doesn’t know from global commodities markets to South American stocks, Chinese real estate to history, technology, geopolitics, and just about anything else. 

Last but not least on our list, Prof. Sally Eaves has become something of a ‘torchbearer for ethical tech’. With a depth of experience in leading roles, including Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, Eaves is unwaveringly focused on harnessing the power of tech for social good, seeing the potential in technologies like blockchain and AI to empower impoverished communities. 

Eaves was an inaugural recipient of the Frontier Technology and Social Impact award, which was presented to her at the United Nations in 2018. She now leads promising initiatives in social impact and has presented several times at Davos and other major conferences and events worldwide. 

A member of the Forbes Technology Council, not only does she live her best life working with cutting-edge disruptor startups but she also spends considerable time advising governments and institutions, lending her expertise on how emerging tech can be used for good--and be regulated for sustainable growth and adoption. 

Recently, Crypto prices have been highly volatile, with January 2022 representing  Bitcoin's worst performance since the crypto winter. Despite the many questions of whether the crypto space has now officially entered a bear market, institutional investors are beginning to accumulate once more. This week, the Canadian arm of Big 4 accounting firm KPMG made its first move to add digital assets Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to its balance sheet. 

"KPMG in Canada is bullish on crypto assets," KPMG Canada spokesperson Roula Meditskos told CoinDesk, "we believe they are here to stay." KPMG has not yet disclosed the amount of either digital asset accumulated as a balance sheet asset but stated that it would also be investing in carbon offsets to meet its commitment to net-zero carbon transactions and fulfill its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) obligations.

The global accounting firm also confirmed that this was just one in a series of investments the company is making in the crypto space. "We've invested in a strong crypto assets practice, and we will continue to enhance and build on our capabilities across decentralized finance, non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse, to name a few. We expect to see a lot of growth in these areas in the years to come," stated Kareem Sadek, an advisory partner on the crypto assets team at KPMG Canada.

KPMG has established a governance committee that will oversee the allocation of BTC and ETH to its treasury and assess ongoing risks and factors, such as regulatory requirements, custodial issues, and reputational impact. 

The consultancy firm has long been providing blockchain and crypto-related services to its clients, especially in regard to strategic and operational integration. The investment underscores KPMG's positive outlook on the future of blockchain and digital assets and doubles down on its stance by putting "skin in the game." This move may even be more significant in the long term than Tesla's $1.5 billion BTC purchase in 2021. Why?

Why KPMG's BTC purchase is such a big deal

As a $32 billion revenue company, KPMG's investment represents another large domino to fall in diversifying its treasury into crypto, following in the footsteps of other public companies like MicroStrategy, Square, Tesla, and Meitu. Tesla's move into BTC lit a spark under the crypto markets sending the asset's price soaring to its first all-time high of 2021 at just over $63,000. Yet, owner Elon Musk would rattle the markets shortly after announcing that Tesla would no longer accept BTC as payment for its vehicles due to concerns about its environmental impact.

If Tesla's BTC investment was seen by many as the catalyst for more public companies to follow, its pivot on environmental issues raised many questions and threw Bitcoin's energy usage into the spotlight, sending prices into a tailspin and effectively halting the growing movement of public companies accumulating BTC as a balance sheet asset. 

While many questioned Musk's personal motives for the about-turn, it was widely suspected that the main concern was Tesla falling foul of its ESG requirements. KPMG's announcement, then, to invest in carbon offsets may change all that, establishing a path for similar institutions with ESG commitments to add Proof of Work assets to their balance sheets while remaining compliant. This could set a precedent for other companies and normalize engagement with crypto assets. 

Some have questioned the reluctance of KPMG to disclose the amount of BTC and ETH purchased, suggesting it was not material and merely for "marketing" purposes. If that's the case, it still does not render the investment insignificant. After all, the very fact that investing in crypto assets could be seen as "good marketing" shows how far the space has come. 

Moreover, KPMG has a lot of influence advising people on how to invest their money; as a Big 4 accounting firm, that's why many seek their services. Elon Musk and Tesla have always been seen as outliers, but KPMG's traditional corporate background lends more credibility to the market and could kickstart the balance sheet narrative again, making it acceptable for traditional firms to invest in the space.

Institutions are increasingly choosing crypto

As digital assets witness more institutional adoption, other financial service providers like KMPG are becoming increasingly involved in the sector. Competitor Ernst & Young Global told MarketWatch in 2021 that it was building technology for major banks and financial institutions to tokenize financial assets.

A rising number of traditional investors from family offices, banks, and even pension funds are taking digital assets seriously, highlighting the maturity of cryptocurrency as an asset class and potentially rekindling the bull run of 2021.

KPMG Canada Adds Bitcoin and Ether to Its Balance Sheet

A Dated Futures contract enables traders to enter into a binding agreement to buy or sell BTC at a predetermined price at a specified date in the future.

Futures contracts are commonly used to speculate on the direction of an underlying asset using leverage, allowing traders to hedge against price moments. 

The launch of BTC Dated Futures with physical BTC settlement on EQONEX shows our commitment to bringing traditional finance strategies to crypto. It follows the introduction of Cross Collateral trading, Ethereum Perpetual Futures, and BTC Perpetual Futures in 2021. 

EQONEX BTC Dated Futures are denominated in the USD Coin stablecoin (USDC) and are linear in that the price of the futures increases as the price of BTC increases against USDC. 

The expiry of the Dated Future will occur at 08:00 UTC on the final Friday of the expiry month. 

Physical settlement occurs automatically on the expiry date, removing some hedging risks compared to cash-settled contracts.  

Users can trade EQONEX BTC Dated Futures on a margin up to 125x leverage.

Physically-settled futures contracts for BTC are not widely available, but EQONEX is uniquely able to overcome common security and technical challenges of physical BTC settlement due to its industry-leading, secure custody business Digivault and its fiat on-ramp capabilities.  

Andrew Eldon, Interim CEO of EQONEX said, “We still see a gap in the exchange marketplace to better serve traders who are looking for safe access to products and strategies from traditional finance to exploit and hedge against the volatility of crypto market trading. We are slowly removing the barriers to entry through a focus on regulation, and by adding high-value products to our customers’ toolkits.”

“We have been very deliberate in building a business that sits at the intersection of traditional finance and the future of finance. Those who already understand the merits of basis trading will be particularly appreciative of this product launch, but we are also providing educational resources to help those wanting to learn how to broaden their trading approaches for risk management or to capture yield.”

EQONEX Crypto Exchange Launches Dated Futures

THIS CRYPTO PORTFOLIO WILL MAKE MILLIONAIRES IN 2022!

In December, the news broke out on Anthony Pompliano’s The Best Business Show that top-rated US insurance company Lemonade had added Bitcoin (BTC) to its balance sheet. 

However, what’s so interesting about Lemonade is that it is not a high-tech or crypto-native firm but a traditional insurance company. As Pompliano pointed out, “They spend a ton of time being conservative, thinking way out into the future, trying to underwrite what is the risk in various investments they make, in various insurance contracts they sign up for, and, obviously, the assets they hold on their balance sheet.”

With the highest inflation in almost 40 years in the US at 6.8% and the 10-year bond yield at less than 1.5%, more and more public companies are waking up to the fact that they can no longer manage their Treasuries in the same way as before. Holding onto traditional “risk-free” assets like cash and T-bills for the long-term will see any profits quickly wiped out by rising inflation caused by unprecedented levels of quantitative easing.

At least 40% of all US dollars in existence were created in the last 12 months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This massive expansion of the money supply, coupled with the continued need for the US to raise its debt ceiling (Congress approved another $2.5 trillion raise this week to avoid a first-ever federal default) means that the money printing is unlikely to stop any time soon.

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures, and Lemonade has made a bold step in allocating a small percentage of its balance sheet to BTC. And, as Pompliano observed, this move raises the important question of whether its competitors will now follow suit. “Will they [Lemonade] be the crack in the armor?” he asks.

Given cryptocurrency’s high volatility, it remains questionable how many traditional companies and their investors will feel comfortable allocating it to BTC and other digital assets. But what is becoming increasingly clear is that companies must start making some serious adjustments to their balance sheet holdings as cash and cash equivalents have become what MicroStrategy’s CEO Michal Saylor infamously called “a melting ice cube.”

Take Lemonade’s example. With $571 million in cash on its balance sheet, the company would have lost almost $40 million in the last year alone in purchasing power solely caused by inflation. Even if Lemonade reallocated these cash holdings into bonds, the returns would not be sufficient to account for the high inflation rates. Losing that much purchasing power triggered Lemonade into taking action. 

Lemonade Is Not the First Traditional Investor to Buy BTC

Lemonade is among the first handful of public companies allocating a percentage of their balance sheets to BTC. However, it is not the first traditional investor to start taking an interest in digital assets. During the first half of 2020, global macro investor Paul Tudor Jones, quickly followed by Stanley Druckenmiller, announced an investment in BTC in his portfolio as a “hedge” against impending inflation, calling the asset the “fastest horse” in this environment.

Large banks and financial institutions are also throwing hats into the ring, from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to BNY Mellon, State Street, and Northern Trust. We also saw a surprise move from a US pension fund to invest in BTC in October. The pension fund for Houston’s firefighters, Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), invested $25 million of its $5.5 billion assets in BTC and ETH through NYDIG, a Bitcoin-focused subsidiary of asset manager Stone Ridge. 

The HFRRF is not the only pension fund investing in crypto and, in fact, was also not the first. Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System and Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System began investing in funds managed by Morgan Creek Digital back in 2018. The funds were categorized as “blockchain technology” and considered venture capital investments, but the fuse was already lit. 

Even with the FED’s decision to raise interest rates three times this year in a bid to tackle inflation, it remains to be seen how quickly the economy will recover and whether investors and public companies like Lemonade will continue to seek alternative assets like BTC. 

Insurance Company Buys Bitcoin as a Balance Sheet Asset

When Jack announced he was stepping down as the CEO of Twitter, it sparked debate over whether he’d be dedicating his energy to crypto full-time. While Jack made no mention of Bitcoin in his resignation tweet, his fascination with the world’s biggest cryptocurrency is well known.

In September, Twitter introduced a “tipping” feature, allowing users to tip content creators with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Jack’s other company, Square, reportedly owns over 8,000 BTC, representing about 0.5% of its market cap. It’s the third-largest public holder of the coin. 

It’s worth noting that despite Jack’s attempts to facilitate greater institutional adoption of BTC, many inside his firm didn’t harbor the same sentiment.

Twitter CFO Ned Segal told the Wall Street Journal that investing in crypto “doesn’t make sense right now” and that the company prefers to hold less volatile investments. That’s why, perhaps, Twitter doesn’t own any Bitcoin. It’s possible that Jack may have wanted Twitter to increase its exposure to Bitcoin and that his attempts were rebuffed.

As a payment company, it makes sense for Square to lay the foundations of BTC adoption, certainly much more than a social media platform. And just one day after Jack announced he’d be working on Square full-time, the company said it was rebranding itself to reflect its corporate ambitions better.

Square, now Block, comprises the following services:

Cash App: digital wallet and mobile money transfer service

TBD54566975: a platform for decentralized Bitcoin exchanges

In January 2018, CashApp was one of the first mobile money transfer services that allowed users to buy and sell Bitcoin. Square Crypto, now known as Spiral, was formed in March 2019. Square bought its first Bitcoin in October 2020, becoming one of the first public companies to do so. In October 2021, Square said it’s considering setting up Bitcoin mining programs, and in November, it released a whitepaper for tbDEX, a new decentralized protocol. 

With so many projects in the pipeline, it makes sense for Jack to concentrate on Block. He’s a Bitcoin maximalist; in fact, he thinks Bitcoin can solve world peace. 

Current financial systems, he believes, are “predatory,” “not relevant to today,” and “certainly not relevant to the future.” 

“We have all these monopolies off-balance, and the individual doesn’t have power, and the amount of cost and distraction that comes from our monetary system today is real, and it takes away attention from the bigger problems,” he explained. 

Paraxodically, despite being the founder of a platform-driven social media company, Jack Dorsey has long maintained that a single individual or entity should not influence the internet. 

During his time at Twitter, Jack spearheaded the Bluesky project. The idea behind the project was to help develop shared, decentralized standards for social media platforms and enable them to become more like email. So Twitter users could communicate with Facebook and Reddit without ever leaving their platform or creating new accounts.

Jack envisioned that these shared standards would make it easier for social media companies to reduce hate speech, fake news, and other controversial elements. He’s also been a big advocate of decentralizing the workplace, with Twitter being one of the first companies to announce that employees can choose to work from home permanently if they so wish. 

This new, decentralized, asynchronous world cannot function optimally on centralized fiat currencies. And Jack believes it is Bitcoin’s destiny to be the currency of the internet. 

Ultimately, Dorsey’s resignation is positive for Bitcoin

Let’s be clear here: Jack Dorsey is not bullish on any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin. The Ethereum community has famously steered clear of the tech magnate, with Jack clarifying that while he doesn’t hate the crypto, it’s not something that he wishes to work on.

Analysts agree that Jack’s focus on Block in a full-time capacity will be positive for Bitcoin in the long run. 

Tom Lee, the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC that the changing of the guard at Twitter is “bullish for crypto.”

“There isn’t enough capital actually allocated toward crypto innovation, so it takes people like Jack Dorsey to really marshal focus,” he added. 

Crypto is huge and here to stay. But is it an institutional element of the financial system, the same way as credit cards, mutual funds, and checking accounts are? Not even close. 

To become so, it needs to win over the attention of elite founders dedicated to bringing crypto to the masses and making it an inalienable part of the new financial system—people like Jack Dorsey. 

Jack Dorsey’s Resignation From Twitter Is a Win For Crypto

The NFT, which was initially priced at $100, eventually sold for north of $69 million. For many, Christie’s move heralded a change of the guard—popular art no longer needed to exist solely on physical easels or canvases. Millennial artists, who may well be far more proficient with Photoshop than with a paintbrush, could command the same interest and astronomical prices as a Picasso. 

Interest in NFTs skyrocketed in 2021, with millennial and Gen-Z investors prizing digital collectibles in a similar vein to rare baseball and Pokemon cards. The numbers don’t lie: popular NFTs such as CryptoPunks and BoredApe are listed on OpenSea for $527,000 (130 ETH) and $390,000 (95 ETH) respectively. In the last 30 days, over $2.37 billion of NFT-related transactions were conducted on OpenSea, according to DappRadar.

Adidas, Nike, and the NBA have all dipped their toes into NFT projects, with the NBA’s TopShot consistently among the highest-traded NFT assets on popular marketplaces. 

But it’s not accurate to say that the overwhelming interest in NFTs is driven by individuals alone. Wherever there are marketplaces with billions of dollars are exchanging hands, institutions aren’t too far behind. And that’s definitely the case here, too.

Celebrated VC firm Andreessen Horowitz has already made investments in NBA Top Shotmaker Dapper Labs, blockchain infrastructure startup Dfinity, and decentralized exchange Uniswap. Its latest fund is a staggering $2.2 billion for crypto investments alone, and you can bet a chunk of that will go towards NFTs. 

Legacy payments company Visa has gotten in on the act, too, with a $150,000 purchase of CryptoPunk 7610, marking its first entry into the metaverse. 

“We think that NFTs are going to play a really important role in the future of retail and social media, entertainment and commerce,” said Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, explaining their decision. “So we wanted to understand firsthand what it takes to acquire, custody, and interact with an NFT.”

Alternative Investments Aren’t Surprising

While one might expect investment offices to pour money in traditional asset classes—equities, bonds, foreign exchange—the fact is that art has been a significant alternative investment base for several decades.

The British Rail Pension Fund acquired 2,500 pieces of art in the 1970s, representing the first instance of an institutional investor allocating capital to invest in art.

Other events such as the collapse of the dot-com bubble in 2001 and the financial crisis of 2008 further spurred interest in alternative asset classes, with record sales of artworks at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s in 2010. While it’s early days yet, one can argue that pandemic-related events, record inflation in Western markets, and the general frenzy towards Web3 will catapult NFT valuations to record highs, too.

For example, global sales of art and antiques clocked in at about $50 billion in 2020, with e-commerce sales representing 25% of the total, the first time online sales outflanked retail purchases. 

NFTs represent an opportunity for investors to diversify their portfolios, provide a hedge against inflation, and beat downturns in traditional financial markets. Art traditionally holds its value and has appeal as a luxury good, keeping it in good stead for the future.

And NFTs have something that holders of traditional art don’t: access to a community—verifying your ownership of an NFT grants you privileges on online forums and communities that non-NFT holders cannot access. 

Buying a Bored Ape, for example, isn’t just about holding a rare piece of blockchain-enabled art. As its website states, a purchase gives you “membership access to a club whose benefits and offerings will increase over time. Your Bored Ape can serve as your digital identity and open digital doors for you.”

Expect to see a lot more NFT-related activity in 2022 and beyond. 

NFTS Aren’t Just a Fad: There’s Billions of Dollars Flowing in From Institutions

According to Clark Moody Bitcoin Dashboard data, over 90% of the total amount of Bitcoin that will ever exist has already been mined.

Credit card giant Visa opened an entirely new division designed to provide cryptocurrency advisory services to interested companies.

Mubadala Investment Company’s CEO and Managing Director Khaldoon Al Mubarak revealed crypto expansion plans. 

Cryptocurrency is the most popular theme amongst Reddit users this year, with a record-breaking 6.6 million mentions.

NGO WikiLeaks received $2.2 million worth of donations in crypto.

Switzerland’s largest online bank, Swissquote, announces plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange early next year to meet clients’ surging demand for digital assets.

German savings banks plan to allow customers to invest in major digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ether directly from checking accounts.

Wells Fargo partners with HSBC to settle bilateral foreign exchange (FX) transactions with its blockchain tools.

Bank of Thailand planned to publish guidelines for crypto regulations.

Ukraine’s Central Bank announces they will use the Stellar blockchain to pilot an electronic version of the hryvnia, the national currency of Ukraine.

Another class-action lawsuit has was filed against Tether.

South Africa plans to introduce cryptocurrency regulations in early 2022.

The Tanzanian central bank governor recently revealed that cryptocurrencies are not outlawed in the country.

Six U.S. senators urge the Treasury to expedite rulemaking on cryptocurrencies.

Myanmar’s Parallel Government elevated USDT to official currency to ease payments.

Kazakhstan explores the feasibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Consensys collaborates with Mastercard to offer scalability solutions.

IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath calls for a global policy on cryptocurrency.

For more information on these stories, visit:

https://coinnounce.com/90-of-all-bitcoins-have-already-been-mined/

https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/visa-is-establishing-a-whole-new-crypto-division/

https://cryptopotato.com/mubadala-investment-companys-ceo-reveals-crypto-expansion-plans/

https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/reddit-says-cryptocurrency-most-popular-term-on-its-platform

https://cryptopotato.com/wikileaks-has-received-2-2-million-worth-of-donations-in-crypto

https://cryptopotato.com/switzerlands-largest-online-bank-plans-to-launch-crypto-exchange-next-year/

https://cointelegraph.com/news/german-savings-banks-want-to-enable-bitcoin-for-50m-clients-report

https://cointelegraph.com/news/wells-fargo-partners-with-hsbc-to-settle-fx-transactions-using-blockchain

https://coinnounce.com/bank-of-thailand-to-soon-publish-guidelines-for-crypto-regulations

https://decrypt.co/88221/ukraines-central-bank-runs-digital-currency-pilot-using-stellar

https://decrypt.co/88250/tether-accused-unlawful-deceptive-practice-class-action-lawsuit

https://chaintimes.com/south-africa-to-introduce-cryptocurrency-regulations-in-early-2022/

https://cryptobriefing.com/senators-urge-treasury-to-set-crypto-rules/

https://news.bitcoin.com/tanzanian-central-bank-governor-cryptocurrencies-not-outlawed-traders-should-invest-at-own-risk/

https://zycrypto.com/myanmars-parallel-government-elevates-usdt-to-official-currency-to-ease-payments/

https://coinnounce.com/kazakhstan-is-exploring-the-feasibility-of-a-cbdc/

https://blockworks.co/permissioned-blockchain-offers-scalability-and-privacy

Croatia’s largest food producer Konzum became the first retail chain in the country to accept digital payments in online shops. 

Kotak, India’s leading private bank, partnered with the leading crypto exchange WazirX to allow traders to use their banking services to liquidate their funds.

CEO Of Texas power giant ERCOT declared a bullish stance on Bitcoin.

Goldman looked into Bitcoin-backed lending as the jobs report disappoints.

Bitcoin’s hashrate climbed higher following difficulty decrease.

Bitcoin whales bought almost $3.5 billion (67K BTC) during the crash down to $42K.

Grayscale Investments survey revealed 67 million Americans own Bitcoin.

India planned to introduce legislation that will probably give crypto holders a deadline to declare assets and meet any new rules.

According to Pantera Capital’s CEO, Dan Morehead, crypto is a ‘Fantastic Hedge’ against the bubble in bonds.

Bitcoin’s hashrate recovered in just six months after the world’s second-biggest economy prohibited industrial bitcoin mining this summer.

The U.S. Senate Banking Committee plans a hearing on stable coins next week as regulatory pressure on fiat pegged crypto assets mounts up.

Visa launched an advisory practice to help clients develop a crypto strategy.

With over 800,000 Australians owning a form of cryptocurrency, the Australian government plans to create a crypto regulatory framework.

WhatsApp deployed crypto payments via chat in the U.S.

MicroStrategy bought the dip, adding $82.4 million worth of Bitcoin to its coffers.

CIA Director William Burns revealed working on “a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency.”

https://cryptopotato.com/croatias-largest-food-retailer-konzum-accepts-crypto-in-online-shops/

https://chaintimes.com/indias-major-private-bank-has-partnered-with-the-crypto-exchange-wazirx/

https://zycrypto.com/ceo-of-texas-power-giant-declares-bullish-stance-on-bitcoin/

https://www.coindesk.com/podcasts/the-breakdown-with-nlw/goldman-looking-into-bitcoin-backed-lending-as-jobs-report-disappoints

https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-hashrate-rises-despite-price-drop-mystery-hashpower-returns

https://cryptopotato.com/bitcoin-whales-bought-almost-3-5-billion-67k-btc-during-the-crash-to-42k/

https://coinquora.com/grayscale-investments-survey-reveals-67-million-americans-own-bitcoin/

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3777667-india-considers-putting-capital-markets-regulator-in-charge-of-crypto-bloomberg

https://cryptonews.com/news/crypto-is-a-fantastic-hedge-against-bubble-in-bonds-panteras-ceo.htm

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