Top Finance Doesn’t Care About Crypto

🌐 Top Finance Doesn’t Care About Crypto

They don’t talk about crypto…no, no, no

Recently I listened to a panel about the future of financial services, including some of the top financial executives in the country.

They talked about the need to bring family office type services down a few levels to those that aren’t in the family office realm of wealth. Estate planning, alternative investments, etc.

It wasn’t at all surprising to hear the conversations turn to AI and the impact it might have on the industry. Of course, it was mostly a small, iterative impact - chatbots, some investment guidance, reading research papers.

What was missing?

I was surprised to NOT hear the words blockchain or crypto mentioned once during the entire 60-minute panel discussion.

The financial industry is usually ok with small incremental changes, so long as they don’t fully upset the status quo.

It’s pretty clear the financial services higher ups still see crypto as only a speculative asset, and hasn’t even delved into the changes the technology might create in the whole system.

The panel mentioned so many of the benefits we might see from more blockchain technology, but didn’t say “blockchain” or “crypto.” So I’m not sure if it was because they don’t know, or they don’t want to acknowledge it.

What were the words they used?

One guy talked of a need for portability of financial assets and data. Sounds an awful lot like having your own custody through wallets, and choosing which advisor can view and offer advice.

Another talked of the need for more API interoperability so your money and data can be more efficiently moved, invested, saved, and stored. Sounds like a job for a public ledger that stores, the data, and offers exchanges, borrowing, lending, and other investment opportunities.

Yet another said we need more decentralization of the RIA experience. I’m not even sure what he meant because he didn’t elaborate, but so much of Decentralized Finance is about giving investors more access to investments, borrowing, yield, etc.

Overall interesting that the higher ups at major financial firms are talking about so many benefits of crypto and blockchain, without knowing, or saying we have the ability to make that future now.

Hopefully they’ll learn soon. However, to this point crypto has been a bottom-up asset class. It has’t relied on advisors or any professionals really guiding their clients. When the people show their interest with their wallets, the financial firms will finally get on board.

US-Led De-Globalization

In a recent conversation with Jacob Shapiro, we discussed how the U.S. is leading a shift toward de-globalization, embracing more protectionist policies. This trend is reshaping the global economic landscape, previously unified by decades of globalization, where countries and markets moved in sync, largely driven by U.S. demand. Now, as the U.S. pivots inward, it's not just about higher inflation and increased national debt—it's about spotting new investment opportunities that arise as other nations become less reliant on the U.S. economy.

Countries like El Salvador and Japan are seizing the chance to accelerate their growth, potentially offering fresh avenues for investment beyond the traditional U.S. markets. This shift might also make national debts from these countries more appealing compared to U.S. debt. The realignment of global economic dependencies could be a pivotal moment for diversifying your investment portfolio. Want to understand more about how these changes could impact your investment strategy? Head over to our full blog post for deeper insights and tips on navigating this new economic terrain.

Or check out the recording of the entire conversation in our Future of Financial Services community.

Have a great week

Adam