The Birth of a New Asset Class: Crypto Assets

2017 was a pivotal year for crypto assets. The combined market cap rocketed from $15 billion in January to over $600 billion by the end of the year. At the same time, bitcoin lost share of the total market cap of all crypto assets from 85% in January 2017 to about 40% in December 2017. Not because it lost value - it was up over 1,000% on the year - but rather because a number of other assets appreciated to significant sizes. Today, there are 12+ other crypto assets with a total supply valued upwards of $5 billion and about 1,400 crypto token based companies. Some are competing directly with bitcoin, while others have totally different use cases, each with their own communities, contributors, advocates and critics.

Crypto assets have transformed from something easily dismissed to something hard to ignore. Interestingly, retail investors have been the early adopters of this new asset class; institutional investors have remained at arms length. Banks, financial services, and regulators face major challenges ranging from operational security to regulatory restrictions that complicate investment in this new asset class.

The seminar will start with an introduction on crypto assets. It will then highlight the different stages of the birth of the crypto asset class through a simple framework of technology adoption. Finally, it will provide an overview of the challenges facing institutional investors.

Etienne Brunet holds an MSc in Business and Administration with a major in Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics. He is currently an investment professional at a capital markets focussed venture capital firm, Illuminate Financial, based in London.

 

All are welcome. Registration from 5.15pm.

Places are limited. To book a seat, please register on Eventbrite.