To ETF or not to ETF
As the first impressions on Bitcoin ETFs pour in, Apillon invited Scytale Digital, Iconomi and Block Analitica to discuss their standpoint…
As the first impressions on Bitcoin ETFs pour in, Apillon invited Scytale Digital, Iconomi and Block Analitica to discuss their standpoint on the matter.
The first Polkadot Meetup Ljubljana of 2024 was the perfect opportunity to discuss all things Bitcoin ETFs, the general adoption of blockchain technologies and future predictions and trends for Web3.
Apillon brought together members of three brilliant teams, each one providing their unique point of view in the debate. We were in the company of:
- Scytale Digital, a team of investment management experts, blockchain technology experts, and entrepreneurs who share a vision of the impact of blockchain technology and accompanying Web3 technologies. Joined by
- Block Analitica, a dedicated risk management firm providing extensive, data-driven risk assessment, monitoring, and mitigation services in the DeFi ecosystem.
- Iconomi, a user-centric platform for managing digital assets as an alternative to exchange trading, that bridges the gap between traditional finance and the crypto market.
Domen Uršič, Co-founder and COO at Apillon, sat down with Christoph Kampitsch, CEO at Scytale Digital, Borut Korpič, CLO at Iconomi and Žiga Perovič, COO at Block Analitica.
ETFs before ETFs
While the highly anticipated BTC ETF had just become a reality, there was already a liquid and listed product, similar to an ETF, offering investors exposure to the Polkadot ecosystem way before the BTC ETF hype train even started.
Christoph Kampitsch’s intro to the roundtable included a quick presentation on the relationship between Scytale Digital and the Polkadot Ecosystem. They are convinced that the technology behind Polkadot, enabling the scaling for future building demands, is of the essence for many teams looking to expand their businesses and find market fits.
“The technology of the Polkadot ecosystem is great; it’s just lacking business development and proper marketing strategies.” — Cristoph Kampitsch, CEO at Scytale Digital
At Scytale Digital, they believe the Polkadot ecosystem needs more extensive and practical use cases. As a part of their investment deal with Mythical, the legendary gaming company, Scytale Digital also advocated for Mythical’s migration from Ethereum to Polkadot.
For Mythical, it meant leveraging the top-performing Polkadot technology for scaling their plans. And, ultimately, Polkadot gained a large use case on the ever-growing Web3 gaming, gaining expertise in that vertical and facilitating over 3 million in-game NFT transactions monthly. But most of all, it brought much-needed traction to the ecosystem and attracted other teams to follow Mythical’s example.
Web3 gaming is the first important use case where users can actually make use of blockchain transactions in real life, like selling skins, characters, etc., explains Cristoph. But there’s still a long way to go to reach the critical mass of blockchain adoption, he signals.
Roundtable: An evolution of wealth creation
Speaking of adoption, the newly-emerged Bitcoin ETFs point in the direction of simplifying crypto investments and leveling the field for a more diversified portfolio of investors. That could definitely bring more blockchain adoption, all the roundtable guests agree. But… also some more regulation.
Borut from Iconomi feels that even if investing in an ETF means ultimately paying more money, it still scratches the backs of many participants, possibly even institutions that are not comfortable with having digital wallets and are less experienced in this regard.
And how big can Bitcoin ETFs get in the future? Cristoph from Scytale Digital believes that if enough money is made, they will certainly push ETFs further and more openly. Borut is skeptical about the current financial inflows into the ETFs as he is sure it will not happen quickly: “History teaches that institutions do have money, but they don’t roll it all at once into an investment.” In the long term, ETFs will definitely put pressure on the price of Bitcoin.
What will follow?
Surely, with time there will be more different ETFs emerging. Žiga from Block Analitica admitted they are already looking forward to staked Ethereum ETFs and many others. “This is where the real party will start — it’s going to get interesting also from the viewpoint of regulation,” Žiga thinks. However, since the SEC Commissioner stated that ETFs are individual case-by-case decisions, it may lag quite some time before it happens in actuality.
Another interesting future point to consider is stablecoins, mentions Žiga. According to him, we’ll soon come to the point where stablecoins will be bigger than Bitcoin because they are more useful than just a store of value — you can basically pay with them.
“I think stablecoins are still basically the thing that will bring the whole market to maturation. “— Žiga Perovič, COO at Block Analitica
Borut Korpič (Iconomi) in Žiga Perovič (Block Analitica)
Compliance — a line in the sand outside the sandbox
As Block Analitica offers pure advisory services and not software development, they don’t directly deal with compliance, Žiga explains, although they do follow it. The issue arises when a regulation such as MiCA includes certain provisions and doesn’t offer follow-up guidance on what’s required.
Christoph explains they do their best so that Scytale Digital is as regulatory compliant as possible, as that deeply affects how they will do business in the future. His take on all the regulatory uncertainty is that we will see much more fight between the countries that are embracing crypto and the ones avoiding it. And consequently, more and more people moving away.
Why is Bitcoin now much more seen by super-rich individuals and investors?
“It’s the transportability that puts Bitcoin in the heights. In the old times, why did people have gold? If someone attacked you, you left your land, got on your horse, moved the gold, and rode away. Today, the equivalent of gold is Bitcoin.” — Christoph Kampitsch, CEO at Scytale Digital
As Iconomi is one of the first Slovenian crypto-related companies, they have a finger on the pulse at all times in the Slovenian area of the woods. As Borut explains, the main barrier to adoption is still a lack of trust in the processes and the mechanics behind them.
“ETF itself is very important — It’s one of the first steps to come to a more regulated environment and the main thing that will bring adoption. “— Borut Korpič, CLO at Iconomi
And the next big trends?
As tempting pizza smells were already luring people to the dining area and the stomachs were growling aloud, we rounded up with the last question about the future of blockchain and crypto.
Christophe stressed it’s not so much about the vertical or the theme but more about active users that can propel the growth. Either it’s gaming or music, he feels, something that everybody likes, but if there is no use case, there will be no adoption, it’s that easy.
Borut expressed his curiosity in DeFi as his first and still-standing interest since he got into the blockchain; apart from that, he is betting on AI to conquer the top trends.
As for Žiga, he is counting on improving user experience in crypto as a big step to general adoption. He is certainly keeping his fingers crossed for the world to solve the riddle of account abstraction, as it could lead to new heights in the blockchain and crypto fields and markets.
Thanks for being with us; see you next time!
⧓ About Apillon
The Apillon platform serves as a unified gateway to the Web3 services provided by linked Polkadot parachains. Following the multi-chain vision, Apillon powers the transition of developers to Web3, simplifying its adoption in the real economy, and expanding its versatility as the ecosystem grows. With Apillon, Web3 services are within reach for every developer, regardless of their background and experience with blockchain technology.