Understanding the Blockchain Space: Opportunities and Challenges for Investors – Anndy Lian

Understanding the Blockchain Space: Opportunities and Challenges for Investors – Anndy Lian

Anndy Lian, intergovernmental blockchain advisor spoke at the 12th Family Office & Investment Forum in Singapore organized by Campden Club. The theme for the event is “Thrive and Prosper: How Family Office are Adapting to New Realities”.

The global pandemic has brought about a new set of challenges for family offices, which are private wealth management firms that cater to the ultra-wealthy. The economic uncertainty and market volatility have forced family offices to adapt to new realities and change their strategies to protect their clients’ wealth and ensure long-term prosperity.

One of the key ways family offices are adapting is by embracing technology. Blockchain and cryptocurrency are two topics that are widely discussed in the investment space.

Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency have been making headlines for over a decade now, and yet their widespread adoption has been slow due to various challenges. In 2023, the most significant hurdles facing the adoption of cryptocurrencies are related to their acceptance. Anndy highlighted the top ten major crypto adoption challenges in 2023 that investors should be aware of during his keynote speech.

1. Lack of Understanding of What Cryptocurrency is and How it Works.
This lack of understanding can lead to a lack of trust in the technology, which makes it difficult for people to adopt it as a means of payment or investment.

2. Volatility.
The value of cryptocurrencies can change rapidly, making it difficult for investors to make informed decisions.

3. Lack of Regulatory Frameworks.
Governments and regulatory bodies have been slow to develop policies that govern the use of cryptocurrencies, which makes investors wary of investing in them.

4. Uncertainty Regarding Taxation.
This uncertainty can discourage investors from investing in cryptocurrencies.

5. Security Risks.
Hacking and other cyberattacks can lead to the loss of cryptocurrencies, which can be devastating for investors.

6. Transaction Irreversibility.
Transactions on the blockchain are irreversible, which means that if a mistake is made, it cannot be reversed. This makes it essential for investors to be careful when making transactions.

7. Scalability Issues.
As the number of transactions on the blockchain increases, the network can become congested, leading to slow transaction times and increased fees.

8. Lack of Merchant Adoption.
Without merchants accepting cryptocurrencies as payment, it is challenging for people to use them as a means of payment.

9. Network Congestion.
It can lead to slow transaction times and increased fees. This can discourage investors from using cryptocurrencies for transactions.

10. Lack of Trust in Digital Currencies.
Finally, a lack of trust in digital currencies is a significant hurdle to their widespread adoption.

Lian also explored ten different ways to make money from cryptocurrency.

1. Crypto Saving.
Many blockchain projects and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms offer high-interest rates for users who deposit their cryptocurrencies.

2. Protocol Tokens.
Protocol tokens are cryptocurrencies that are used to power decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain protocols.

3. Application Tokens.
Application tokens are cryptocurrencies that are used to access and use specific dApps.

4. Staking.
Staking is a process that involves holding cryptocurrencies in a wallet to support the network’s operations.

5. Yield Farming.
Yield farming involves providing liquidity to DeFi platforms in exchange for rewards.

6. Crypto Stocks.
Several publicly traded companies offer exposure to the cryptocurrency market through their stock offerings.

7. Other Crypto Securities.
These include exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures, and options.

8. Exchange-Traded Products.
Exchange-traded products (ETPs) are investment vehicles that allow investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies through their brokerage accounts.

9. Bitcoin Proxy Stocks.
Bitcoin proxy stocks are stocks of publicly traded companies that have exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

10. Web4.
Web4 is a new concept that aims to create a decentralized internet that is owned and controlled by users.

The Campden Club is a global membership organization that brings together family offices, ultra-high net worth individuals, and private investors to network, share knowledge and expertise, and discuss issues related to family wealth management and preservation. Founded in 1987, the club has over 200 member families from around the world and hosts regular events and forums to facilitate discussions on various topics, including wealth management, philanthropy, investment opportunities, family governance, and succession planning. Members of the Campden Club gain access to a network of like-minded individuals and family offices, as well as exclusive content, research, and resources related to family wealth management.

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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Upstart NFT marketplace LooksRare challenges OpenSea’s dominance

Upstart NFT marketplace LooksRare challenges OpenSea’s dominance

Upstart non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace LooksRare launched with a bang this week, transacting over US$1 billion in sales after only debuting on Jan. 10. Total sales figures are more than 40% of market leader OpenSea’s entire sales volume for the past week, according to DappRadar.

LooksRare has achieved this sales volume with only a fraction of the users of OpenSea. On Jan. 13, LooksRare’s sales volumes were more than five times higher than its main competitor, yet it did so with less than 3,000 users, compared to OpenSea’s 70,000.

Some have argued the NFT boom was drawing to a close after a peak in August, but sales volumes on LooksRare alone suggest strong demand remains in the market.

While LooksRare’s figures may seem hard to believe, the platform’s controversial incentive structure reveals how this may have been possible. LooksRare launched by airdropping its native LOOKS token to any OpenSea customer who had spent more than 3 ETH in the second half of 2021. This tactic is known as a “vampire attack” — when one platform uses incentives to lure away users from another — and LooksRare is the second major effort of its kind against OpenSea, the first being Infinity in October last year.

LooksRare says its systems ensure that any wash trading would be unprofitable, as daily LOOKS rewards are fixed while each transaction incurs fees, disincentivizing the practice. Though one industry watcher told Forkast the practice is clearly occurring.

“They did expect [wash trading]; it wasn’t ideal sales but they couldn’t prevent it,” said Yohann Calpu, CryptoSlam’s chief blockchain officer, telling Forkast the NFT aggregation company is trying to track authentic sales figures on the platform for a more accurate representation of the platform’s performance.

Calpu also said that while OpenSea maintained more than 90% of the Ethereum NFT market share, LooksRare has shown competitors can challenge this dominance by offering new features.

Despite the region being such a strong driver for the market, no major NFT marketplaces are based in Asia — both OpenSea and LooksRare are based in the U.S. Anndy Lian, Singapore-based founding member of NFT creative studio Influxo, told Forkast this is a product of the global nature of the technology, which proves that as long as the content is quality, it will be able to find a market.

“We are now in the crypto space; everything is international, everything is global,” he said. “As long as there is the right kind of intellectual property, NFT creators who have that following can [list it] anywhere, and they will get their fans in that region to buy it. Now the market is global, truly global.”

Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou showed this to be the case recently with his NFT collection PhantaBear. Chou’s collection topped Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC) sales volume on OpenSea earlier in the week with more than 18,000 ETH (US$57,630) in sales volume in the past week — 10% more than BAYC’s for the same time, according to CryptoSlam.

“They do not hesitate because they know that by buying there’s a chance to appreciate in value and also the fact that it is a form of status — unlike some friends in the U.S.,” he said, “because the mindset is different.”

 

Original Source: https://forkast.news/upstart-nft-marketplace-looksrare-challenges-opensea/

Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.

Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.

An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.

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