In spite of all the Fear-Uncertainty-Desperation-&-Despair [FUDD] these days, it still feels like a great time to be ‘alive and shipping’ in crypto, especially this past week. Why? Well, firstly, a small - but growing - portion of the world is learning about AND embracing DeFi. Secondly, digital assets are finding their way into the cosy homes of institutions and onto mainstream platforms / applications like Twitter… and thirdly, Europe is starting to assert its place as the largest crypto economy. Big week of excitement to hopefully carry us through the fourth quarter. Here we go..
1. Coming in for a DeFi hug
Recently there have been some cracking front-page images about DeFi ecosystems and rabbit holes. Fortune published a particularly NFT-worthy one for its August / September edition:
[Whilst some journalists position the debate as CeFi vs DeFi, it can be interesting to invert the discussion and consider CeFi to DeFi].
… and The Economist ran an equally compelling front page in their September 18th edition, aptly labelled “The beguiling promise of decentralised finance”.
Yes, both articles highlight the risks, although nascent, rapidly innovating, disruptive technologies usually do carry some nominal level of risk [just look at Compound today]; they’re new. Of course, there are multiple iterations ahead, but the key takeaway here is: the education cycle is underway and people are curious.
So with Outlier Ventures CEO Jamie Burke hopping on to mainstream media outlet BBC Sounds yesterday to discuss decentralized finance’s potential alongside G. Gensler [aka Gazza], it definitely feels like DeFi is finding its embrace… Interestingly the corporations are also seeing the potential, with Robinhood discussing their forthcoming crypto wallets with DeFi capabilities and eToro offering DeFi portfolios to their clientele. Overall it’s an exciting time to be in DeFi!
2. Can you feel the [Digital Asset] love tonight?
Because although DeFi is feeling the love, digital assets continue to find their way into portfolios. Institutions, as we have said before, are driving the growth of the digital asset ecosystem. So, whilst China have been making their intentions fairly clear by banning crypto and making life fairly ‘tricky’ for the miners and crypto communities in the Oriental East [i.e. run for the hills / cease and desist / sell pressure], institutions have been buying the dip in the west.
Swings and roundabouts one might say… And rockets, because, ‘Rocketman’ Elon Musk says crypto is indestructible - which is.. basically true; it can't be destroyed unless the entire Internet were to go down, forever. This offers a contrary view to the FUD outlined in last week’s Edition but recaptures the digital asset love we were feeling back in Springtime this year.
Talking of digital asset love, more companies are looking at ways to bring crypto onto their platforms with AngelList now starting to enable investors to use USDC-enabled funds and Visa assessing ways to transfer stablecoins between blockchains. Bitcoin tipping also just launched on Twitter and Coinbase unveiled a forthcoming feature enabling customers to deposit their paychecks directly onto the platform.
3. Europe - World's Largest Crypto Market
$1 trillion+ of received digital assets from June 2020 to July 2021 illustrates how much love crypto love there is in Europe. The region of Central, Northern and Western Europe [CNWE] is the world’s most active cryptocurrency hotspot according to a Chainalysis’ Insights piece earlier this week.
We have already discussed how institutions are underpinning the next wave of digital asset adoption [be sure to check in at Coinshares for investment inflows every Monday] and it is no surprise that Europe’s institutional investing grew to $46.3 billion in June 2021 compared with $1.4 billion in July 2020 [33x]. What did come as a slight surprise is that the UK is the single largest crypto economy in the region with $170 billion worth of transactions.
Even more surprisingly, 49% of the value was sent via DeFi protocols. Perhaps that’s why Alkemi Network’s Marketing & Brand Manager, Max was so excited to speak at the Crypto A.M. Summit and Awards 2021 event yesterday, contributing alongside other leaders in the space on the ‘Engines of DeFi’ panel.
And now for some Metaverse…
If you are not familiar with the concept of the Metaverse and are wondering what it might be, check out this Defiant-produced video. Also, listen to Jamie Burke of Outlier Ventures discuss his thoughts on the Metaverse with Piers Kicks of Delphi Digital. As Jamie eloquently puts it, “The Metaverse is effectively an interface layer made up of hardware and software that makes the physical and virtual worlds indistinguishable from one another.” Enjoy!
… brought to you by Alkemi Network
Alkemi Network is building an on-chain liquidity network with a suite of tools and products that serve as onramps for everyone to participate in decentralized finance.
Be sure to learn more about our most recent step towards progressive decentralization. And of course, don’t miss out on our next event: