The Background
As a financial technology professional, I have keen interest in most of the things that are related to both technology and finance. Over the past decade our society has seen a dramatic change in our daily habits. Lets think about it – most of us are shopping online on a regular basis, watch youtube videos daily, get the news from social media and have a mini computer in their pocket called smart phone. A decade ago all the above was a the mere vision of a group of tech enthusiasts.
The Situation
At the same time – the way we bank and invest has not evolved much. We still write cheques, wait 24h or more for a transaction to settle and pay rather expensive brokerage fees. Factually, disruptive innovation is coming at very fast pace to the financial services industry – passive investment has reached 4 trln USD, robo advisors are challenging traditional wealth advisory , robinhood gives us the opportunity to trade stocks for free and there is the mistery of Bitcoin reaching record levels.
The good news is we are likely to benefit from all these technologies in the next couple of years and eventually benefit from lower banking costs and improved experience. However, change also means opportunity for some and challenge for others.
The Opportunity
New asset class, based on blockchain technology seems to be emerging. Recently, when a former client, qualified financial advisor and a CFA holder asked on linkedin how he can buy bitcoins for his kids, I realised that this “new asset class” starts to attract not only speculators and technology enthusiasts but also “serious” long term investors.
With returns of the most liquid crypto ( bitcoin and ethereum) currencies reaching well above 100% YTD, many predict further gains.
How to take trade these instruments?
The first step seems to be to equip yourself with a digital wallet supporting the digital asset you are interested in. After setting up a secure digital wallet, the process is very similar to trading a stock, as digital currencies trade on exchange.
Take away
There is a significant change occurring and there is an “asset class” emerging. No clear regulations or specific guidelines are present as of today. Investing in digital assets class gathers attention from governments around the world as well as civil society. We are likely to see a broad public debate on the topic.
Reference Counter
The Economist – Virtual Vertigo, article published on the 3rd of June 2017
FT – Universities add blockchain to course list, article published on 18th of June 2017
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Disclaimer
Please note that this blog post shall not be used as any form of investment advise. It has purely informative purpose. The author reserves its publication rights and has no legal liability if any form of misusage of the post occurs.
About the author
Boris Grozev is a seasoned fintech executive. Moreover, he is an entrepreneur by heart. Boris has helped number of businesses. To clarify, he has created and implemented business development and product enhancement strategies. In addition, his advisory work in emerging and frontier markets has resulted in culture and technology change. Above all, it has fostered innovation and lead to tangible results. He also invests in variety of asset classes and shares his experiences from the journey to financial independence. Boris’ leadership abilities, ambition naturally spread to others. He is a fast learner. His stamina, attitude and passion to succeed help to achieve common goals.
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