Crypto for consultants: consultant, the last border
Today's crypto for advisors newsletter is written by I! Accompany me as I reflect on the growth of the crypto industry. Then, Kim Klemballa In “Ask the Expert”, Coindesk Indices answers questions that consultants employ about the assessment and benchmarking of the investment class.
I hope you enjoy our newsletter. Thank you for giving me your trust. A thank you to all great participants who share their stories with us every week. I look forward to where we will be in 2 years.
Webinar note: Explore the market for digital assets and opportunities to open up the crypto investment class beyond Bitcoin. Enter Ric Edelman From DACFP, David on the stage von Grayscale Investments and Andrew Baehr von Coindesk Indices for an informative webinar on July 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Only live webinar. CE credits available. Find out more and register today.
Two years later and just at the beginning
Two years ago I took on the role of the editor for Crypto for Advisors at a crucial time. It was in mid -2023 and the cryptocurrency industry was in the middle of a deep winter. The collapse of large credit platforms and the collapse of FTX had sent shock waves through the markets. The regulatory climate in the United States was hostile, characterized by a assertive tactics, and trust was shaken.
But even then, the underflooring could not be overlooked by somewhat larger. Quickly forward to the present, and we are on the edge of what the Bank of America calls “”.A transformation that takes place once in a millennium. You don't talk about memes or speculation. They talk about the redesign of the global financial infrastructure, the economic models and digital property – and this is driven by crypto.
An ode to Bitcoin: the beginning
“Bitcoin belongs in one breath with the printer press and artificial intelligence.” – Bank of America:
Bitcoin, born after the 2008 financial crisis, created something revolutionary: a decentralized, digitally fixed currency with a limited offer. It belonged to neither a government nor a company or a central authority.
A movement began from there. The early introduction saw students who experimented with GPUs, developers who built wallets, entrepreneurs who founded stock exchanges, and Miner who were looking for favorable energy worldwide. A technological and economic revolution took shape.
Today we see Bitcoin ETFs from the world's largest asset managers-Blackrock, Fidelity and Grayscale that the Top Drei According to managed assets (AUM) – and even the state introduction by countries like U.S. and Feet Work to become global crypto centers. It is an unprecedented acceleration of financial innovation.
The rise of Ethereum and Smart Contracts
Bitcoin sparked the fire, but Ethereum-and the Smart Contract innovation he introduced-brought benefits, programmability and the ability to token everything: real estate, CO₂ certificates, works of art, identities, stocks and even return regenerating protocols.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum dominate the headlines, tens of thousands of digital assets exist. And while the focus is on investments, the blockchain transforms silent and quiet supply chains, intellectual property, finance and more.
Listed companies add cryptocurrencies to their balance sheets. Over 140 listed companies have announced Bitcoin reserves. Exchange such as coinbase and octopuses will offer tokenized shares, while retail platforms such as Robinhood expand their crypto products. The access points are multiplied: direct sales platforms, ETFs (meanwhile in the hundreds)tokenized funds and direct ownership. And the list continues to grow.
The landscape has changed – do they adapt?
Only a handful of consultants was one of the very early users, but that gradually changes. The recognition of the chance – supporting customers, protecting relationships and gaining new business – is growing increasingly. It is increasingly reported that consultants are gaining customers, simply because they are ready to talk about Bitcoin.
On the other hand, the lack of regulation, restrictive corporate guidelines, the volatility behavior of digital assets and the general uncertainty in dealing with a new asset class have led to restraint. In addition, consultants have to consider many aspects – and learning a new – and constantly changing – investment class is now added! Despite all of these challenges, customers want to receive access to digital assets. Recently Coinshares Complaint data emphasizes that customers want the support of their advisors and expect them to have extensive knowledge in the field of digital assets. More than 80 % of the respondents stated that they would rather work with a consultant who offered advice on digital assets, and 78 % of non-crypto investors explained that they would contact a consultant if a crypto support were available. Remarkably, almost 90 % stated that they plan to increase their crypto exposure in 2025.
A call to action
Blockchain is an infrastructure, crypto is more than an asset class and the technology extends far beyond investments.
The industry matures, regulation is progressing and the world's largest institutions continue to develop on the blockchain. As US Finance Minister Scott Bessent recently said: “Crypto is”The most important phenomenon What happens in the world today. “
You don't have to be a crypto dealer or blockchain developer. But if you are a trustee – a consultant, a planner -, you owe it to your customers, to understand what is going on. Education is the key.
In two years of creating this newsletter, I have observed how the mood from skepticism and curiosity to strategic integration changed. And we are only at the beginning. I am very happy to be able to accompany you on your crypto trip. Like to network with me to contribute ideas for future topics that you would like to see treated.
– Sarah Morton, Chief Strategy Officer, MeetAmi Innovations Inc.
Ask an expert
F. Why is the same digital asset traded on every stock exchange at different prices?
A. Shares “Connect” to a stock exchange, which enables a single, centralized price. Crypto, on the other hand, is “decentralized”. This means that there is not a single “connection” to evaluate a digital asset. While crypto prices for supply and demand (as well as other factors) Based, every stock exchange acts independently, which is why the prices can vary between different stock exchanges.
F. How can I find reliable price data for digital assets?
A. There are many providers of digital asset indices and data. Pay attention to a pricing that (1) from a serious and trustworthy provider with proven experience in the field of digital assets, (2) pursued a transparent and rule -based approach to the construction and (3) Carefully elaborated criteria explains how the price determination takes place. The methodology of the index is extremely important. For example, if the selection criteria of an index “trade in more than one” include.justified Exchange ”with carefully designed authorization, then in the case of the FTX collapse FTT (The Exchange token from FTX) has not been included in the index. Well -thought -out construction can rule out malicious players.
F. Why do people use Bitcoin to measure the entire digital asset ecosystem?
A. While Bitcoin is now making up for 65% There were times of the entire digital fixed assets market when Bitcoin wasLess than 40 % of the market. An asset should not serve as a yardstick for the entire asset class. Diversification is crucial for institutional investors to control volatility and use broad opportunities. Effective benchmarking has to do justice to several stakeholders – it enables performance evaluation, supports investment strategies and sets industrial standards for everyone.
Indices like COindesk 5 (CD5), COindesk 20 , COindesk 80 , COindesk 100 and CoinDesk Memecoin were developed to do justice to the needs of those who want to assess, act and/or invest the constantly changing digital asset market.
– Kim Klemballa, CoinDesk Indices
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