224-year-old Swiss bank opens $ 250 million fintech fund

224-year-old Swiss bank opens $ 250 million fintech fund with focus on tokenization

Asset manager Lombard Odier Investment Managers, part of a Swiss bank founded in 1796, has opened a new fintech fund. It is targeted at companies specializing in asset tokenization, writes The Block.

The firm announced its new fintech strategy in May and has raised $ 250 million since then despite adverse market conditions.

Lombard Odier explained that they practice the “pick and shovel” method when investing in the digital asset space, choosing proposals related to tokenization, for example, real estate turnover using the blockchain. To date, she has invested in an unnamed consulting and software development company. The fund selects income-generating companies with a market capitalization of at least $ 500 million. Lombard Odier noted a shortage of listed companies involved in tokenization.

Research: "there are signs of a maturing cryptocurrency market for institutional investors"

The report notes that currently there are 40 companies in the digital asset market that provide services to institutional clients. Since 2014, such companies have raised $ 583.5 million for their development through 66 investment deals.

Funding volumes have increased markedly over the past 3 years, with 2020 already becoming the leader in this indicator. 108 investment firms have participated in at least one financing transaction for cryptocurrency companies providing services to institutional clients.

In 2016, the volume of investments in such companies amounted to $ 6.7 million, in 2017 - $ 15.5 million, and in 2018 this figure increased to $ 195.4 million.In 2020, the volume of investments exceeded $ 250 million.

It is also a good sign that in 2020, investments have begun to flow into already developed companies with a significant market share, and not only in newly emerging firms. This is what indicates the maturation of the market.

Central Bank of New Zealand does not plan to launch its own cryptocurrency in the near future

Hawksby made such a statement at the annual conference of the Royal Numismatic Society in New Zealand. At the same time, he stressed that the central bank is actively studying the functioning of state cryptocurrencies and the possibility of their practical use.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) researchers have been addressing this issue since 2018. They found that such digital currencies can increase the population's access to financial services. Hawksby mentioned a report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) that 80% of surveyed central banks are working intensively on government cryptocurrencies.

MicroStrategy CEO: Garbage Data Holds Bitcoin Market Development

The CEO of MicroStrategy, which previously invested $ 425 million in bitcoin, Michael Sailor considers the available data on the state of the cryptocurrency market to be "junk". They do not reflect the real liquidity that he was able to estimate during his own investments, Sailor said in an interview with Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough on Tuesday.

The CEO of MicroStrategy referred to Apple's market-tracking app, which shows daily bitcoin trading volume of $ 24.76 billion. Sailor said that this figure, "sent to billions of devices around the world," is grossly overstated.

“It's rubbish. I have learned from my own experience that I cannot buy more than $ 35 million a day without people finding out about it. There can be no way there can be $ 24 billion. It's just awful, "he said, adding that this factor" holds back Bitcoin. "

CoinDesk analyst Galen Moore argues that perceptions of "real" bitcoin trading volumes still vary widely. “Data is a marketing tool, not a source of income. Some exchanges deliberately overestimate volumes in order to form an appropriate idea of ​​their liquidity, ”explained Moore.

"Where else can you find something so compelling to surround such terrible data in other asset classes?" Sailor asks.

At the same time, the CEO of MicroStrategy admitted that he liked the "fact of a little immaturity of the data," because it reflects "the pain and work that you have to face when you come first or come early."