Reasons to remain bullish after a year in crypto hell
There’s been plenty written about the crypto year from hell. Without going into my perspective on our industry’s Lehman/LTCM/Madoff moments, I figured I’d provide a more uplifting end to the year. We are now 14 years into the experiment of using public blockchains to disrupt money, financial services and internet architectures. Below is a list of some of the more exciting things that happened this year that I believe will increase adoption worldwide and will help achieve a world we’re all looking for — sovereignty over money, over personal data and true democratization of financial services. We aren’t there yet. But as the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Massive incumbents in traditional financial services are leaning in….
Fidelity
- First, opened ETH trading for institutional clients
- Then, opened commission-free BTC and ETH trading for retail customers
- Launched two thematic crypto ETFs
- Announced they would allow retirement savers to put Bitcoin in 401(k) accounts
- Launched an Ethereum Index Fund
Blackrock
- Partnered with Coinbase to provide crypto access on Aladdin
- Announced private trust for direct spot Bitcoin
- Invested $400m into Circle
- Listed a Blockchain ETF
Goldman Sachs
- Completed first OTC crypto transaction
- Offered their first Bitcoin-backed loan
- In conjunction with Coin Metrics and MSCI, announced Datonomy, new classification system for the digital assets market
BNY Mellon
- Announced they are live in the US with select clients to hold bitcoin and ether
- Invested in Coin Metrics (CIV Portfolio company)
Franklin Templeton
- Launched a SMA with Eaglebrook Advisors
- Invested in Eaglebrook Advisors (CIV Portfolio company)
Citi
- Announced partnership with METACO to develop institutional digital asset custody
CME
NASDAQ
Paypal
- Enabled transfer of limited crypto to external wallets and more recently partnered with MetaMask to expand service
CBOE
- Completed acquisition of ErisX (CIV Portfolio company)
NYSE
Visa
- Continued leadership among incumbents embracing crypto and exploring ways to leverage public blockchains
- Filed patents related to crypto wallets and NFTs
American Express
- Launched a crypto-back credit card
Traditional investment firms started to deploy resources and leverage public blockchains…
KKR
- Announced they are tokenizing shares in its Health Care Strategic Growth Fund on the Avalanche blockchain
Hamilton Lane
- Announced they are tokenizing three funds via Securitize
- Announced plan to launch investment fund with Figure
Citadel
- Partnering with Virtu to build crypto trading exchange
- Invested in Hidden Road (CIV Portfolio company)
Apollo
Brevan Howard
- Hired Peter Johnson and Colleen Sullivan to run BH Digital Ventures
- Reportedly raised more than $1bn for crypto hedge fund
Millennium
Some of the largest public and private technology companies are leaning in…
Meta
- Instagram integrates with Polygon, Solana and Arweave as they continue pushing into NFTs
- NFT integrations with Coinbase wallet, Dapper and Flow
- Google Cloud announces partnerships with Ethereum (Blockchain Node Engine) and Solana
- Google parent announced a partnership with Coinbase for allowing crypto payments for cloud services in 2023
Stripe
- Launched fiat-to-crypto on ramp to make it easier to hold crypto without signing up to an exchange
Some of the largest energy companies are figuring out mining may be a good thing for their operations
ConocoPhillips
Exxon
- Rumored to be selling excess natural gas to Bitcoin miner since 2021
Shell
- Rumors to be entering the space as a sponsor/speaker for Bitcoin 2023
Other notable companies are entering the space — even if some are head scratching
Nike
- Generated ~$186m of NFT revenue through RTFKT acquisition
- Announced new NFT drop would tie virtual sneakers to real ones
Dolce & Gabbanna
- Released a set of mysterious glass boxes redeemable for a variety of merchandise options alongside digital access and benefits
- Generated ~$24m in NFT revenue
Walmart
- Filed patents relating to digital currencies and NFTs
Chipotle
- Now accepts crypto for payments
Ticketmaster
- Launched NFT collectibles for fans before, during or after an event
- Fully embraced “collectibles” and users recently eclipsed 5 million NFTs minted as part of art tokens based on Polygon
Starbucks
- Launched Starbucks Odyssey built on Polygon
Gucci
- Announced partnership with 10KFT to include a virtual world and new NFT drop
Prada
Tiffany’s
- Sold out of CryptoPunk pendants for $50k each
When things do turn around, more gms, less ngmis and hfsp, please.
