Let’s take a look at the hiring statistics for Coinbase:
Coinbase is arguably the fundamental route for cryptocurrency new-comers to get into the market. That is not to say that other options do not exist, perhaps even better options. Options that may spread more of the cryptocurrency universe at your fingertips or suite your particular style. Remember, Coinbase currently hosts only four currencies so far: Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC).
With the investment world still largely focused on technology firms such as Amazon and Apple, which have tremendous market capitalizations, expansion, and hiring trends, I think it wise to look at the growth of companies and industries surrounding the cryptocurrency market.
The hiring data from Coinbase as it is available on Linkedin.
Certainly, we can look at this exponential growth as an indicator that this market segment is growing…quickly. In July of 2016, Coinbase employed just under 211. In two years’ time, they have grown at a rate of 170% to a current total of 570 employees.
As an investor looking for cues and educational instruments regarding the growth and stabilizing of an emerging market, employment data of leading companies in the sphere is a good place to start. This is not to say that it is the crystal ball, as we know that companies rise and fall with the times.
Let’s take a look at BlackRock.
This is a July 16, 2018 video clip from an interview with BlackRock’s Chairman and CEO, Larry Fink.
After being asked by Bloomberg interviewer Erik Schatzker, Mr. Fink says that none of his clients have expressed any interest in crypto. Meanwhile Schatzker states that Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are building out crypto trading desks.
Mr. Fink again states that he has not heard from any clients that they want to be in crypto. You can develop your own conclusion about what he says, but I believe that he may not be showing all of his cards.
The Elephant in the Room: Insurance for Crypto Assets:
Bloomberg published an article recently uncovering the quite side of insurance for cryptocurrency storage. AIG, Chubb, XL, and Aon are a few of the tycoons quietly, and quickly, building their portfolios for insuring the cryptocurrency markets. Read the full article on Bloomberg.
Some quick market research on cryptocurrency topics show that this asset class is quickly becoming an allure to not only the original crew of techies, but to the financial institutions that our economies rely on.
The Final Take:
There is an incredible amount of information and misinformation to be found with regard to cryptocurrencies. From where I stand, I prefer to look at the digital asset’s underlying use case. Where is the news around not only the coin, but the institutions that play a part in making it available? Even then, some digital currencies exist today, that may not exist in the future. Regulators may come down with one fell swoop and knock some (or many) coins/ICOs/tokens out of existence.
If you are reading blogs such as this, you are obviously intrigued with the idea that the cryptocurrency market is ripe for the picking. It is my intrigue with this new asset class that has me writing this blog and providing the insights that I find.
Read. A lot.
I can tell you that with the onslaught of new cryptocurrencies and ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), there are many bogus attempts to lure people’s money into worthless coin purchases. Look at the structure of the crypto asset and use your reasoning to determine which tokens you want to get into.
CoinMarketCap provides an extensive listing of available coins. Currently, there are 1,656 coins listed and prices range from fractions of a cent to thousands of dollars. However, not each of the coins listed is available through the same platform. In some cases, you need to discover an exchange method for purchasing a specific coin. This could very likely mean buying a token on a platform like Coinbase and exchanging that coin for another coin, which you hold in a wallet. This is a major reason why people are finding it difficult to get in the crypto currency asset pool.
The cryptocurrency market is global, but regulated differently by the country you reside in. You may be able to set up some accounts in one country that you are unable to use in another.
For example, DX.Exchange is an institutional and individual trading platform sitting on NASDAQ’s technology. Though NASDAQ is based in NYC, DX.Exchange is based in Estonia and will be regulated by the Estonia Financial Supervision Authority. The regulatory issues keeps the US usability of this platform at zero, as of now.
Best,
Rand
NOTE: As the domain name of this site suggests, the content my blog posts are opinion and not investment advice of any kind. Do your own research before making any decisions to invest (or not to invest). I am not a financial advisor. I am simply sharing information I gather from across the web, news, and media outlets and drawing my own possible conclusions.
OpinionCrypto 