Goldman Sachs Digital Assets Conference Insights: TON, ETFs, and Asset Tokenization Remain Buzzwords

2024.07.01

Goldman Sachs Digital Assets Conference Insights: TON, ETFs, and Asset Tokenization Remain Buzzwords

The proportion of people who have heard of ordinals on-site exceeded 70%.

2024.07.01 - 07:48:06

Navigating Web3 tides with focused insights

The proportion of people who have heard of ordinals on-site exceeded 70%.

Author: Tom Wan

Translation: TechFlow

At the Goldman Sachs Digital Assets Conference, the most frequently mentioned terms were

TON
Tokenization
ETF
UX (User Experience)
Regulation

Below are summaries of some interesting panel discussions.

1. The Next Wave of Digital Asset Investment

Panelists:

@dan_pantera from Pantera Capital
@richwgalvin from Digital Asset Capital Management
Joseph Naggar from Republic Digital
@rviewfromhk from Animoca

1.1 How to Recommend Cryptocurrencies to Traditional Financial Investors:

Recommend similarly to other asset classes, but avoid overemphasizing philosophical aspects;
The main current challenge is high volatility;
Can draw parallels with the maturation process of emerging markets and similarities to the internet boom;

1.2 Has Venture Capital Returned to Its Heyday?

Investment pace is similar to before; price declines present excellent opportunities for investing at reasonable valuations;
Liquidity investments are also a promising area;

1.3 Why Are Altcoins Underperforming?

Many new token generation events (TGEs) have led to some capital rotation;
Regulation will determine winners and losers in the long term;
Overall crypto market valuation resembles the S&P 500, with top assets capturing most of the market share;

1.4 Predictions and Exciting Areas Mentioned by Every Speaker: @ton_blockchain

Dan:

Integration of blockchain and AI in provenance and decentralized AI models/computing;
TON has a massive existing user base;

Richard: AI and consumer-facing interfaces

We now have sufficient block space; we need to attract more users by simplifying complexity—Telegram is a great example;

Joseph: TON/Near/Bittensor/Bitcoin smart contracts;

Robby: ZKPs for decentralized ID and powerful distribution blockchains like TON;

2. Technologies Powering the Foundations of Digital Assets

Panelists:

@BlockdaemonHQ’s @konstantin11
@YuvalRooz from Digital Asset Holdings
Aaron Schnarch from Anchorage
@TimRiceCM from Coinmetrics

2.1 Where Are Blockchain’s Real-World Capabilities Being Demonstrated?

Tokenization: Reducing fees, improving efficiency, and enabling 24/7 markets—for example, @Securitize’s BUIDL;
Bitcoin ETFs;

2.2 What Are the Industry’s Main Challenges Today?

Compliance: Staking remains complex in reporting and tax calculations;
Complexity: Staking may still be too complicated for investors;
User experience: ETFs are a good example, simplifying investor operations by abstracting custody;

2.3 Is Staking the Next Trend for Institutional Adoption?

Institutions will begin participating in decentralized networks, such as running nodes or validating networks; however, regulations are still not entirely clear;
Staking remains complex; chain abstraction is key;

3. Beyond ETFs: Where Is Cryptocurrency Headed?

Panelists:

@Gautam_iit from Brevan Howard Digital
@0xUNaeem from Coinbase
@Chris_Zuehlke from Cumberland
@HHorsley from Bitwise

3.1 Will There Be Other Crypto ETFs Beyond BTC and ETH?

Solana and TON blockchains offer different products than BTC and ETH, so there will be ETFs beyond just BTC and ETH in the future;
Index funds may become the long-term solution for the next wave of crypto ETFs;

3.2 Looking Back, Were There Any Surprises About the BTC ETF? What Ripple Effects Might Occur?

Coinbase’s survey projected $10 billion AUM for U.S. BTC ETFs within a year of launch, but actual results exceeded expectations;
Adoption speed among investors and advisors was surprising compared to GLD;
Retail and high-net-worth investor inflows were unexpected, as institutions haven’t fully entered yet;
The next wave could be pension funds and endowments entering;
Ripple effects could include tokenization;

3.3 How Have Market Dynamics Changed After ETF Launch?

Deeper liquidity during U.S. trading hours;
Trading volume during U.S. hours increased 3–4 times, accounting for 50% of total volume;
Derivatives trading began dominating price movements;

3.4 What Other Catalysts Could Drive Bitcoin Price Besides ETFs?

Regulatory changes;
Interest rate shifts;
Innovation demonstrated on base layer via Ordinals/BRC-20;
BitVM and other Bitcoin scaling solutions;
ETF tools mitigate credit and counterparty risk;

@HHorsley asked the audience how many had heard of ordinals—surprisingly, over 70% raised their hands.

3.5 Where Are We in This Cycle?

Technology is ready for its golden age, with reduced transaction costs through L2s and other L1s like Solana;
Institutions will adopt blue-chip DeFi protocols to build their own solutions;

3.6 How Will the U.S. Election Impact Crypto?

Crypto issues are clearer than ever before;
We need a clear regulatory framework;
A clear regulatory framework can foster innovation and boost U.S. competitiveness;

3.7 Best and Worst Case Scenarios by Year-End:

Best case:

Emergence of a killer app attracting millions of users;
Institutions going on-chain;

Worst case:

Lack of momentum and negative reputation;
Talent shifting toward AI;

4. @ysiu: The Web of Ownership: How One Billion People Will Transform Capitalism and Financial Markets Through Web3

Photo of Yat at Goldman Sachs office @Moca_Network

4.1 Cryptocurrency Mirrors Real-World Structures—but Is More Advanced

DeFi is now one of the largest “central banks,” with $100 billion in total value locked (TVL);
DAOs may become the organizational form of the future;

4.2 How Can Cryptocurrency Empower the Gaming Industry?

NFTs give users ownership rights over parts of the internet;
In-game currency = Token;
Game skins = NFT;
Traditionally, game studios spend most of their funding on ads on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to acquire users, yet little of this money flows back into the gaming industry or to users;
Airdrops are a new user acquisition strategy. Even if players don’t enjoy the game, the tokens they sell remain within the crypto ecosystem;

4.3 Current Challenges Facing Web3 Gaming

Many crypto games are still restricted by mainstream platforms (like Apple or Steam), which require disabling NFT functionality within games;
An alternative is developing games on Telegram’s blockchain, allowing developers to benefit while leveraging Telegram’s massive user base;

5. Spotlight on Institutions: What Aspects of Digital Assets Are They Focusing On?

Panelists:

Tony Ashraf from Blackrock
Geoff Kendrick from Standard Chartered
Russell Barlow from Abrdn (a global investment company headquartered in Scotland, formerly Standard Life Aberdeen)

5.1 Why Are Tokenized Money Market Funds Important for Crypto?

Yielding assets serve as high-quality collateral;
Stablecoins yield no returns and may carry potential counterparty risks;
More efficient than non-yielding cash;

5.2 Why Did Blackrock Choose to Tokenize Money Market Funds with @Securitize?

Created a new distribution channel;
It's an efficient asset;
Enables the crypto industry to access risk-free rates on blockchain;

5.3 What Strategic Investments Has Your Company Made?

Russell from Abrdn:

Building infrastructure for 24/7 trading;
Working closely with @hedera, running nodes and participating in governance committees;

Geoff from Standard Chartered:

Zodia Custody;

Tony from Blackrock:

Blackrock invests in companies capable of driving industry development;

5.4 What Is the Biggest Opportunity? Cryptocurrencies, Custody, Collateral Management, or Tokenization?

Cryptocurrencies will dominate, and tokenization will also have major impact, but we need to move beyond proof-of-concept (PoC) stages;
Super apps in crypto;
Collateral management will bring unexpected opportunities.

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Tom Wan

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Goldman Sachs Digital Assets Conference Insights: TON, ETFs, and Asset Tokenization Remain Buzzwords

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