A $100 trillion wave is about to hit the crypto markets
“Here’s what you need to understand right away,” he said, jabbing his finger at me as we sat in our offices here on the south bank of the Thames.
“The crypto market is worth roughly the same amount of money as the property market of Yorkshire…
But the institutional capital market is equivalent to the property market of the whole of Europe, Hong Kong and China – COMBINED.
It won’t take much institutional cash to double or triple the size of the crypto markets. That could happen in the blink of an eye… in fact, it is already starting to happen…”
I was talking to Sam Volkering, our resident cryptocurrency expert, author of Crypto Revolution and a man who has helped tens of thousands of people all over the world understand and profit from cryptocurrencies.
We were talking ahead of Sam’s huge Beyond Bitcoin investing event – which is shaping up to be the biggest crypto event of 2019. It’ll go live in a week’s time, on 26th September – but you can register for free access now.
I’ll be joining Sam onscreen. So we were meeting so that Sam could walk me through his argument. It’s a pretty compelling case. At the risk of a spoiler alert, I’ll give you the short version…
The 2017 crypto bull market was largely driven by small time players. You and me. Private investors. Individuals. In the course of a year we saw prices leap anything between 20x and 200x higher. Some people made a fortune. One of Sam’s followers even posted on Twitter that Sam had helped him make his first crypto million.
Think of 2017 as a signal. A flare up into the sky. A supernova. The moment the world woke up to the potential of bitcoin, blockchain and other cryptos.
But not everyone could act quickly on that signal. Large institutions – custodians of trillions in investment capital – couldn’t exactly open a crypto trading account and start investing right away.
So they largely missed the last crypto boom.
But they won’t miss the next.
Because in the time since 2017 the technology and platforms required for big institutions to access the market has been developed. Think of these solutions as “gatekeepers” of the crypto markets. Big money can’t get into the market without using them.
Perhaps “floodgate-keepers” is a better term. Because as Sam pointed out, the institutional capital markets absolutely dwarf the crypto markets. The advent of crypto gatekeepers means it’s now possible for a tidal wave of institutional cash to flow into bitcoin – and beyond.
Here’s a great example. This week a major new cryptocurrency platform called Bakkt launches. It’s been developed in conjunction with Microsoft and Starbucks. And it’s designed to help institutional cash flow into cryptocurrencies.
That has people very excited. As a Forbes piece earlier in the week put it, “bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies including ethereum, Ripple’s XRP, bitcoin cash, and litecoin, could be primed for one of their biggest ever weeks as traders and investors gear up for the launch of the U.S.-based Bakkt bitcoin and cryptocurrency platform.”
Who knows if it’ll be the biggest ever week. Cryptocurrencies are still pretty volatile. And besides, if you shrink your time horizon down to one week, you’re sort of missing the point. Cryptocurrencies are a long term prospect. That’s Sam’s view and I share it. If you’re interested in making a big one week gain… stop reading now. That’s just gambling.
Sam believes we’re at the start of a much longer, more sustained and more profitable phase in the development cycle. He thinks that looking beyond bitcoin and ethereum could lead to gains of 150 times your money or more. That’s real long term thinking.
But we’re certainly seeing the building blocks of that boom locking into place. Bakkt is example. But as a recent Wired piece put it, “there’s an arms race afoot over who can store cryptocurrency safest.”
Fidelity, which has $7 trillion under management, is moving into the crypto market. Coinbase, which helped bring thousands of private investors in back in 2017, is courting wealthy clients and institutions too. There’s even a start-up helping the mega-rich store their crypto in high security vaults under the Swiss Alps.
These are the gatekeepers. And the gates are opening. That spells exciting things for crypto. But it may mean you’re running out of time to claim your own small stake before the market is dominated by the big beasts.
How long before we get there?
Who knows. But I know one thing. Sam Volkering’s Beyond Bitcoin event couldn’t have come along at a better time. It’s free to register. Oh, and we’re giving away £10,000 of bitcoin too. Register here free now.
Best,
Nick O’Connor
Publisher, Exponential Investor Â