As the industry matures, we’re seeing more institutions put their weight behind digital assets and seek exposure beyond bitcoin. 👀 📈
The stats
If you don’t believe us, just look at the numbers! 🤷🏻♀️
New data shows institutional clients traded roughly US$1.14 trillion 💸 worth of cryptocurrencies on Coinbase in 2021 — a sharp increase from the US$120 billion in 2020, and more than twice the US$535 billion traded by retail investors.
In Canada 🇨🇦 specifically, nearly one-third (32%) of financial service providers that participated
in a recent KPMG survey say they have made allocations to digital assets. Despite crypto being touted as a good technology play (43%) and a hedge against inflation (21%), Canada’s uncertain regulatory landscape is what appears to be causing investors to have more “reserved perceptions.” This is a risk that could force Canadians to look elsewhere for access points and put the country at a competitive disadvantage. 👎
The Federal government also made brief mention of digital assets in last week’s budget and said it would set aside $17.7 million for a
five-year 👀 ⁉️ review aimed to study the role of CBDCs and cryptocurrency. We recently
spoke with the Financial Post about how the crypto industry could be a boon for our economy, and what’s at stake if we don’t take steps to issue proper guidance. ⏳
Our take
A vote of confidence from some of the world’s oldest banks 🏦 and hedge funds helps build credibility for an industry that is at the cutting-edge of innovation. Cryptocurrency and blockchain went from a niche hobby used by tech developers to a multi-trillion-dollar asset class with new use cases emerging almost every day.
Institutions are starting to consider different parts of the ecosystem and assets, like ether, that offer utility and act as yield-generating instruments.