#18 Financial Executives Name Blockchain Technology as a Strategic Priority. Talent Migrates from TradFi to Crypto.

Disclaimer: Everything we write in "The Crypto Insider Report" is an x-ray of the industry as we see it, through the lens of publicly available information. We are not financial advisors.

A new age of digital assets for corporations

In the last year, everything has changed for blockchain, digital assets, and financial services. The proliferation of digital everything as both a means of exchange and a store of value has expanded significantly, with a seismic shift impacting the global financial services industry (FSI) in particular that has recently been further challenged by new business models around digital assets. 

In a Global Blockchain Survey conducted in 2021 with 1,280 senior executives and practitioners all around the world, Deloitte found out that FSI leaders see digital assets and their underlying blockchain technologies as a strategic priority now and in the near future. In fact, nearly 80% of overall respondents say that digital assets will be very important to their respective industries in the next 24 months. 

Source: Deloitte.com 

The business imperative of adopting blockchain and digital assets is growing noticeably, as organizations increasingly accept that their current business models are at stake. More than three quarters of respondents strongly agree that their organisation will lose an opportunity for competitive advantage if they fail to adopt blockchain and digital assets. 

However, one key element corporations lack currently is a workforce equipped for embracing the next technological era. In order to innovate using a blockchain solution it’s important to understand its fundamental principles. In preparation for this shift, blockchain has risen to the top of the list of skills executives are looking for in employees around the world according to professional social media platform LinkedIn. What is somehow counter intuitive is that demand is driven by industries outside the financial sector which include shipping, retail, farming and gaming. 

With Blockchain technology moving from a shadowy corner where it has been placed by many for years to being perceived as a transformative business solution by business leaders all around the world, blockchain education has become more important than ever. And those who fail to see that, risk missing out on a competitive advantage that is up for grabs.

Evelyne 

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Talent is migrating from TradFi to Crypto

Blockworks writes about the ongoing migration from TradFi to Crypto companies. People are leaving behind their prestigious, well paid jobs for adventuring into the hottest startups around - those in the Crypto space. Cited people from companies such as Celsius and Blockchain.com highlight how their new hires are coming from the traditional space. Some people are even coming out of retirement for this.

This is not the first time such a movement has happened if we are to think about the Silicon Valley boom. Old behemoths failed to adapt to the fast paced way of working that nimble startups had, and disengaged employees, sick of working in rigid environments, jumped ship. Venture capital funds became a thing and joining a successful startup meant making life-changing amounts of money for early employees.

Crypto takes this to the next level. Funding amounts are sky high - if previously 50 million USD was a great series B (Uber’s was 32 million), that is now almost seed money for some DeFi project on an upcoming layer 1. Liquidity is accessible - whereas before you’d wait for your company to become public or get acquired, exchange-listed tokens make sure that you can benefit from your total compensation in no time. Finally, the pace and flexibility are something else entirely. Crypto is a non-stop business. There are no office hours. You just have to get the job done. Meritocracy is key.

All in all, the demand for talented, driven people will keep growing. And these jobs are not just for the highly technical or those skilled in finance. As with traditional companies, all skill sets are and will keep being sought after. So whether you are working in Legal, Customer Support, Accounting, Office Management or any other department, you will find opportunities in Crypto companies.

Mihnea

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The VEVE Trilogy (Part1)

2020 Santa Clause came with a short Medium article promoting an already two-year-old app about NFTs, App born at the same time with NFT OG projects from that time, but who kept quiet in the corner, like the silent kid that always eats alone in the school cafeteria.

Even after that, for a while, the kid didn't become popular, but people started finding out who the parents were: David Yu and Alfred Kahn, two titans in the kids' industry. Let me just portray them for you in a few words.

Al Kahn has represented the toy industry with fame, being on of the most proeminent impresario worldwide. His 4Kids Entertainment company is responsible fort Yu-Gi-Oh, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Pokémon (after renaming the concept from Poker Monsters to Pokémon) in the 90s.

In 1998, in a try to expand in Australia and New Zeeland, he met David Yu, a 19 years young taiwanese from Australia, who made such an impression on him that he decided to hire David without even meeting in person. 

In 2005, Khan is inducted into the Licencing International Hall of Fame, but the story continues

In 2018, 20 years later, Al Khan met again with David Yu and received a proposal, as a token of gratitude for the trust he put in the young 19-years-old back then. 

The 2018 meeting

See, now David runs an empire in full expansion, sees the trends, the industries, loves the crypto world, and understands the future of the NFTs and Metaverse. Because Al Khan comes from different times, David understands that he can help with what he does best, get Licenses from big names to be taken into the NFT world, Exclusive Licenses.

The brilliance of VEVE is that they understood that even if the times are new, what fascinated the kids 100 years ago, 50 years ago, 20 years ago will also fascinate them from now on, just in a different format, always mint edition. The brands that built legacies for a century or so are not going to go away. Those who get them first with a substantial vision will create an outstanding foundation for a legacy project in the crypto world.

Maybe it seems that the story has little to do with Crypto or NFTs, but bear with me here; it's a trilogy. More on this next time.

Cosmin

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Canada leads by example

The first two trading days of February have seen large inflows into the TSX-listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF fund. These amounted to almost 1,800 BTC and were some of the largest daily inflows to date in a sign that investors have growing confidence at the current price levels. The 1,050 BTC inflow on February 1st was the largest since early December 2021 when the price was hovering around the 50,000 level. Purpose Bitcoin ETF now holds over 31,000 BTC. It was the first spot Bitcoin ETF approved by the Canadian Regulators in March 2021. 

Funds flow data from ByteTree is showing an increase of c.1,300 BTC in the holdings of the ETPs it is following. As of February 2nd, the funds are holding 843,307 BTC. This data along with the fact that no major outflows of BTC was witnessed from the other Canadian ETFs highlights that Purpose’s inflows probably consist of new capital. In the US, the SEC is continuing its Bitcoin spot ETF delaying spree. It has delayed the Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF application on February 1st, while James Seyffart, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst, predicts the SEC will also delay the upcoming Grayscale application to convert its GBTC into a spot ETF on Friday. Final dates for both would be July 1st and July 6th, respectively.

These data points come in an environment where the current market correction looks less like a capitulation relative to last May. In a note to investors at the end of January, JP Morgan highlights that the change in open interest has been significantly smaller than in May while the increase of Bitcoin held on exchanges was more modest relative to the spike seen in late Spring, a significant increase being a sign of larger investors moving their holdings to exchanges for selling. The report underlines that this correction might be structural.

Razvan

For more educational crypto content check out the links below:

• The Stakeborg DAO Talks on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOrFZZifNn4Nx4nSQL3WS52ALPXgrTSVG

• Discord channel: https://discord.com/channels/901898461568442458/903006233584341052

• StakeborgDAO Quarterly Reports: https://docs.stakeborgdao.com/reports/dao-quarterly-reports