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Women in Blockchain: Sam Shrager of BCB Group

linkedin.com/in/samarmour

Sam recently left her position at NKB Group Financial Services, an investment banking firm for the digital world.

Q & A with Sam Shrager | Head of Marketing BCB Group

Q 1 Give us a summary of your background and how you got into Blockchain & Digital Currency / Cryptocurrency?

A 1 I’d been working with a start-up who had moved into the blockchain and crypto space as a result of re-working a global content app to a model supporting crypto payment options. One of the investors was also founding a blockchain investment bank and recruited me to run digital marketing and learn more about the space alongside the team. I started to work with the advisory team on ICO projects and advising them around PR, marketing and as the ICO market has dwindled, I’ve focused more on content creation, profile and community building for the main NKB brand.

Q 2 Tell us about your current position, responsibilities and some day to day activities that you look forward to?

A 2 I love checking in on the news flow every day and seeing what angle we can comment on, via the usual channels as well as on the great community (WhatsApp / Telegram) channels out there. It’s very exciting seeing the developments in the space and getting out there to wave the flag for the NKB team and our services.

Q 3 If you had to be critical about yourself, which part of your career would you like to improve on?

A 3 I wish I’d had the opportunity to use my German language more in roles and had worked abroad for longer.

Q 4 What advice do you have for children/youth (10–18 years) today especially young women regarding the Blockchain world? How do we nurture interest in this new Technology?

A 4 There are a few things that women should be aware of in the blockchain space to thrive. If you are not of a technical background, do not get discouraged thinking that in this space you can only become successful if you are a developer. There are a lot of roles evolving in the ecosystem that can suit a variety of backgrounds and skillsets well.

Broader advocacy initiatives around the sector will also help. University efforts are particularly important — There are some amazing efforts coming out of Oxford Blockchain Group and hope other universities can catch up. In addition, I think secondary schools in the UK are really addressing this area — for instance, I was recently approached by my daughter’s IT teacher to give a talk and information about blockchain to her A’Level students who were studying a module on this. Even for kids as young as 12 and 13, the schools are addressing blockchain and cryptocurrency in their IT lessons, which is extremely encouraging.

Q 5 What kind of skill set would you be looking at in job applicants?

A 5 Ability to learn fast, adapt and pivot to new opportunities and openings and an understanding of the importance of networking and digital.

Q 6 Blockchain to me is a forward-thinking force of snowballing Technology, but where I’m from a lot of people still see Bitcoin as a scam. How do we bridge the gap between technology and people that are skeptical about it?

A 6 This space is still very immature, which means that there is a risk of participants who do not necessarily operate ethically. As the market matures, I think it will become more and more important that individuals from traditional capital market backgrounds, with the right governance experience, come and join the market to raise standards around investing in blockchain and crypto projects.

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Q 7 Can you please provide the details of an educational facility that is in your area or country if anyone reading this article decides to find out more about Blockchain.

http://www.oxfordblockchain.net

Homepage

Q 8 What is your current opinion on the Digital Assets (Cryptocurrency) market and share with us your opinion on where you think this technology will take us?

A 8 The wild fluctuations in 2018 — that was a classic bubble scenario. On the positive side, it brought a lot of interest and broader awareness into this space. On the negative side, the excesses of the bull market inevitably meant perhaps overly negative sentiment that we found ourselves in at the end of last year. This is nothing new though, and over history, this has played out many times with various assets.

The gradual building of the infrastructure continues, and so does the arrival of institutions into this space which is very encouraging.

I think there will be mass adoption of the technology but I do think, however, that most likely it will take much longer than we think. We are probably talking over three-five years, rather than one-two. But in ten years’ time, I’m sure that most of us will have various assets on the chain — from property to art and more.

Q 9 What new exciting projects are you currently working on or planning?

A 9 We’re running our inaugural Blockchain Investor Forum early next month, which will bring together investor and innovative blockchain companies, where a small number of hand-picked projects will present to a panel of investors, viewed by a larger audience from the industry. This is very exciting and we hope to roll this out to a series of such events across the year.

Q 10 What is your favorite Blockchain project and why?

A 10 Nebula Genomics, who are building a better world within healthcare by allowing individuals to take control of their health data by collecting and owning it, and being able to securely share it for a reward, which allows the acceleration of medical research and contribution to science, all while getting unique insights into our health.

The Old World. What is going on with Digital Assets in Europe?

Europe is an enormous market of more than half a billion people. As small amounts up to 8 million euros may be raised without registration of the offering, it is a very attractive market for international projects looking to reach new investors for their security token offering.

Economic Situation

Currently, the main problem of the European investors is finding the right investment opportunities. After quantitative easing, they are sitting on piles of money, which they cannot put into local economies because they are growing too slow. Therefore, they are very keen to invest their money into overseas projects that can offer 7+% annual yield. There is significant interest in investing abroad among smaller investors as well. Currently, interest rates on bank deposits are negative, which means that people are actively losing money. This makes even common people who have not previously invested in the stock market to look for such opportunities.

Amount of Tokenized Assets

According to the estimates, the total amount of tokenized assets in Europe reached above EUR 500 million in 2020. The main sectors are real estate, natural resources mining, and technology startups. The fact that more traditional sectors are looking to conduct a security token offering, not only startups, is a sign of a maturing market with more experienced tokenization platforms and service providers.

Tokenization platforms

European security token market is one of the earliest to develop. There are plenty of tokenization platforms in the EU but only a few of them have shown real traction and survived so far. This market is moving fast, and promossied high values. That is why it is important to choose wisely the partner on STO market, and not scrood up with the brokerage firm. Among leaders confirmed by business experience and financial success are:

Neufund and Black Manta Capital Partners, both companies based in Germany;

Tokeny, which have signed a memorandum with PwC and with the government of Monaco;

Smartlands, a UK-based provider known for one of the first real estate tokenization cases;

DESICO, a platform focused on small offerings by startups under Lithuania crowdfunding law;

Stobox.io, a US-based company with a team from Ukraine, that has been recognized as “Asset Tokenization of the Year 2019” and provides advice to the government of Ukraine in the development of virtual assets legislation. The company provides a comprehensive service asset tokenization service, from legal to technology and marketing. Stobox is also active in the crypto space. The company develops a crypto exchange and issued STBU utility token, which represents one of the few opportunities to get exposure to an exploding tokenization market.

EU-Wide legislation

There are no specific laws that govern the security token market on the European Union level. Therefore, security tokens abide by the same laws as traditional securities: Prospectus Regulation, MiFID II, Anti-Money Laundering Directive, and others.

The most important among them is the Prospectus Regulation, which defines rules and exemptions for securities offerings. The main rule of the Prospectus Regulation is that the public offering of securities has to be registered with competent authorities. However, it also provides certain exemptions. Two of them are interesting in particular:

The offering is targeted solely at the accredited investors;

The offering is targeted at less than 150 non-accredited investors per Member State

The offering is under 5 or 8 million euros depending on the specific Member State you launch the offering from.

Therefore, even foreign companies that don’t have funds and focus to register their offering in the EU can raise quite substantial sums from local investors.

Most progressive countries

Although there is no legislation on the Union level, certain most progressive countries have implemented legislation for blockchain technology and security tokens. Market proposal here aggregated in the area of Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Germany, Malta, and Ukraine.

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is by far the most progressive jurisdiction in the world in terms of virtual asset legislation. “Token and trustworthy technologies act” also known as “the Liechtenstein Blockchain Act” creates a basis for recognition of any type of token based on a legal contract that accompanies creation and ownership rights of a token. This is why it is already being chosen as a jurisdiction for STO by many top companies.

Switzerland

Switzerland is also in the process of preparing blockchain legislation. Even without legislation, it is extremely progressive in terms of the attitude of regulators and possibilities. It is already legal to incorporate a company with shares entirely on a public blockchain and input share capital in Bitcoins. Hopefully, this trend will continue with the new legislation.

There are other countries also working on legislation for virtual assets and creating ecosystems for STOs, among them are Germany and Ukraine. Malta already has existing legislation – it was the first country to enact one – but its implementation remains problematic, so currently Malta is not one of the European leaders.

Secondary Markets

Despite adverse economic conditions, the tokenization industry in Europe is striving. The only remaining piece of the puzzle is the secondary market for digital securities, which is currently underdeveloped. Certain efforts are present from National Stock Exchanges to list security tokens. In particular, there are projects from the Swiss Stock Exchange and Gibraltar Stock Exchange. However, except for slow-moving national markets, there are also new projects aimed at security token trading. There are two interesting companies here that we are highly recommending to keep attention: a Liechtenstein-based exchange Blocktrade targeted at common investors; and a UK based exchange Archax, which has recently obtained regulatory approval in its region.

Bottom Line

The European digital securities market is on the stage which works perfectly well for collaboration on the international arena. It has a vivid ecosystem of experienced service providers and a large market of hungry investors. Collaboration with markets such as South-East Asia, which started to develop later and gained less experience but contain many good projects with solid yield, is a great way to move forward the security token ecosystem.

We at Stobox are constantly issuing industry analysis and tokenization insights. Subscribe and don’t miss our updates.

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Contact:

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info@stobox.io

Stobox OU

Harju maakond, Tallinn, Kesklinna linnaosa, Roseni tn 13, 10111, Estonia

Stobox Technologies Inc.

1047 Brighton Beach Ave.Brooklyn, NY 11235, USA

NFT Trading Volume Surpasses $54B, Exceeds 200% in 2022

The non-fungible token (NFT) market continues to take the world by storm based on the notable adoption and trading volume witnessed.

Data analytic firm IntoTheBlock explained:

“The total volume traded by NFTs has recently surpassed 18m ETH with an aggregate value of more than $54b.”

Source:IntoTheBlock

From the above chart, the total volume traded by NFTs stood at $16.94 billion on January 1, 2022, rising by 220% to hit the current $54.33 billion. Therefore, the NFT trading volume has grown exponentially from the beginning of the year.

Furthermore, NFT collections in the Ethereum (ETH) network have risen in 2022. IntoTheBlock noted:

“The number of NFT collections in ETH has increased by 104.5% in 2022. There are now a total of 80,300 collections.”

Source:IntoTheBlock

Nevertheless, the adoption of NFTs is still in the early stages. IntoTheBlock pointed out:

“The NFT adoption curve is just starting. Roughly only 4.5% of the ETH addresses with a balance are NFTs holders.”

Source:IntoTheBlock

NFT market expected to grow by $147.24 billion by 2026

According to a study by market research provider ReportLinker, the NFT market is anticipated to grow by 147.24 billion during the 2022-2026 forecast period, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35%.

Per the report:

“The growing number of big brands entering the market, the emergence of fractionalized NFTs, and the growing application of AI in the market will lead to sizable demand in the market.”

Furthermore, the NFT market is expected to continue being driven by growing investment in digital assets, soaring demand for digital artworks, and security and ownership of digital assets.

Meanwhile, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) recently entered the big screen based on a series of animated short films called “The Degen Trilogy.”

MEXC Global Enables Crypto Purchases with Zero Transaction Fees via Fedwire, SWIFT

MEXC Global has permitted purchases that attract zero transaction fees through SWIFT and Fedwire to boost the globalisation of cryptocurrency trading.

Therefore, the crypto exchange seeks to ease the access to digital assets through a Global Bank Transfer Program for USD deposits made using the Fedwire and SWIFT transfer networks.

Per the announcement:

“Users can now purchase crypto with a 0% transaction fee in over 170 countries including such important regions as Europe and North America.”

MEXC Global acknowledged that the direct deposit option with no charges would offer users convenience and affordability as they seek an enhanced crypto trading experience.

Having bagged the “Best Crypto Exchange in Asia” award at the Crypto Expo Dubai in October 2021, MEXC Global has highlighted its user-driven policies and the deposits with zero transaction fees are not an exemption.

Sand, the Vice President and Head of the Middle East and South America of MEXC, commented:

“Insisting on users’ needs as the core and growing in a user-driven way. MEXC has a good community culture and insists on listening to users’ feedback to make continuous improvements. At present, many company executives and even our founders pop by the community every day to answer various questions from users.”

SWIFT is the acronym for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which is a vast messaging network used by financial institutions and banks to securely, accurately, and quickly send and receive information about money transfers. SWIFT is the system behind the scenes for most security and international money transfers.

While Fedwire is a real-time electronic funds transfer service used by government agencies, businesses, and banks for same-day and mission-critical transactions. Therefore, it is used for time-critical and large-value payments.

Meanwhile, with consumers’ tastes, needs, and preferences changing, 87% of merchants noted that crypto payments would give them a competitive edge, according to a recent survey by big four audit firm Deloitte.

Reserve Bank of Australia Rolls Out CBDC Pilot Project

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has launched a year-long trial to explore a central bank digital currency’s (CBDC) business models and innovative use cases.

The Australian central bank highlighted that the pilot project aimed at getting better insights into the regulatory, legal, and technological aspects of CBDCs.

Michele Bullock, RBA’s Deputy Governor, pointed out:

“This project is an important next step in our research on CBDC. We are looking forward to engaging with a wide range of industry participants to understand better the potential benefits a CBDC could bring to Australia.”

By partnering with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), the RBA seeks to comprehend the feasibility and desirability of a CBDC on Australian soil.

The DFCRC is an industry group backed by the Australian government and will be mandated with inviting different players to create specific CBDC use cases.

The issuance of CBDCs by apex global banks continues to gain steam. For instance, earlier this year, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) changed its tune about crypto assets because it sought public opinion about the potential introduction of a CBDC.

The CBK acknowledged some of the benefits rendered by a CBDC, including minimizing cross-border payment costs and offering financial inclusion to those limited by technological knowledge or infrastructure.

Nevertheless, the Kenyan apex bank cautioned about potential risks triggered by CBDCs, like hindering the effectiveness of the monetary policy by opening doors to money laundering and constraining commercial banks.

Since CBDCs represent the digital form of a nation’s fiat money, they are controlled directly by the country’s central bank and backed by national credit and government power.

49% of Americans are Aware of NFTs: Pew Research Center

Nearly half of Americans have shown awareness of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), according to a survey by Washington-based think tank Pew Research Center.

Per the report:

“About half of U.S. adults (49%) say they have heard at least a little about non-fungible tokens, including 11% who have heard a lot. But just 2% of Americans say they have bought an NFT.”

Pew Research Center also pointed out that investment in and awareness of NFTs varied based on demographic factors, especially age and gender. The study noted:

“Men are 22 percentage points more likely than women to say they have heard of NFTs. And 69% of adults ages 18 to 29 say they have heard at least a little about NFTs, compared with 56% of those ages 30 to 49 and 36% of those 50 and older.”

The share of Americans who have heard about NFTs was also different based on income levels, ethnicity, and race. For instance, Asian Americans took the top spot regarding NFT awareness at 66%, followed by White, Hispanic, and Black adults at 49%, 48%, and 38%, respectively.

Despite a considerable number of U.S. adults depicting NFT awareness, nearly half of those who have invested in cryptocurrencies have aired their disappointment in crypto performance.

The report stated:

“Among the 16% of U.S. adults who say they have ever invested in, traded or used a cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether, 46% report their investments have done worse than they expected.”

Nevertheless, 15% of Americans stated that they were satisfied with their crypto investments because they had performed better than expected.

Pew Research Center undertook the survey between July 5 to 17 this year and sought to know why Americans were entering the crypto space. Top of the reasons entailed diversification and a way to make money.

Source: PewResearchCenter

Meanwhile, 15% of the Indian population aged 18 to 60 years has already set foot in the crypto space, according to a recent study by crypto exchange KuCoin.

LG Electronics to Roll Out Crypto Wallet

As a part of plans to expand its business scope to include platforms and software, South Korean tech giant LG Electronics is launching a crypto wallet application dubbed “Wallypto.”

Hence, LG Electronics sees the creation of a virtual asset wallet as a stepping stone toward revamping its business portfolio that has traditionally leaned on hardware.

Furthermore, the application will help the tech giant enter the blockchain/non-fungible token (NFT) market in earnest. Per the announcement:

“It is also expected to actively create synergy effects by combining blockchain technology with existing flagship businesses such as home appliances and electric fields.”

Developers are expected to conduct a beta test on Wallypto this month. Its final release is anticipated to happen this year. The report noted:

“After going through the final verification process to catch system errors, it is likely to be released in the third quarter at the earliest or within the year at the latest.”

Powered by the Hedera Hashgraph blockchain, “Wallypto” supports Hedera HTS tokens, but it’s expected to incorporate more cryptocurrencies upon release.

Earlier this year, LG Electronics made it clear that it was eyeing an expansion drive beyond home appliances to include blockchain, cryptocurrency, and medical devices as new sectors in its corporate charter.

During the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in March, shareholders approved these changes so that its new objectives would entail the brokerage and sale of cryptocurrencies and the development and sale of blockchain-based software, Blockchain.News reported.

Moreover, the electronics giant partnered with the Kakao Ground X blockchain platform and launched smart TVs with an NFT option in February this year.

Australia to Continue Treating Cryptos as Assets

Australia has decided to continue treating cryptocurrencies as assets.

According to the Australian government’s budget announcement on Tuesday, legislation will be put upon treating digital currencies such as bitcoin as a virtual assets.

The government has taken the move to allow the taxation of digital assets. It means that investors would pay capital gains tax on profit from selling crypto assets through exchanges and when they trade digital assets.

The new law does not apply to central bank digital currency (CBDC) or government-issued digital currency. Instead, they would be considered foreign currency.

Australia’s crypto sector is highly unregulated, but the Treasury Department announced in August that the government would take the initiative to prioritise ‘token mapping’, which will help identify how crypto assets and related services should be regulated.

The country is also working on introducing CBDCs.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) published a Whitepaper in September to give additional insights into its proposed Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), dubbed the eAUD.

In its concerted efforts to explore all possible use case scenarios concerning the creation of the eAUD, the RBA partnered with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) to develop systems jointly to test the capabilities of the new legal tender. The duo set out to conduct the trials, and per the recently published Whitepaper, the pilot tests are scheduled to commence next year.

Billed as one of the most advanced economies exploring the launch of a CBDC, Australia, through the RBA, will seek to understand how the system will work in all environments that feature key stakeholders in the country’s financial ecosystem.

“The key objectives of the project are to identify and understand innovative business models, use cases, benefits, risks, and operational models for a CBDC in Australia,” the Whitepaper reads.

During the same month, Australian Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg released a new draft of the titled Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2022, aimed at regulating on digital asset exchanges.

The Act aims to provide an effective regulatory framework for the Australian market and provides requirements for the introduction of digital asset exchanges, digital asset custody services, licenses for stablecoin issuers, and disclosure requirements for China’s central bank digital Yuan service providers.

In a September 19 statement, Bragg said that “Australia must keep pace with the global digital asset regulation race” as “Parliament must push for legal reform.”

Central Bank Executive Says Hong Kong Working On Investor Protection Measures

The chief executive officer of the central bank in Hong Kong seemed to have an optimistic perspective on the future of decentralized technology in the wake of the current crypto pandemic; nevertheless, the governor of the central bank in Korea had his worries about the subject.

At this very moment, the governors of central banks from all over the globe are assembling in Thailand in order to discuss the function of central banks in this day and age of fast advancing financial technology.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Bank for International Settlements will both act in the capacity of co-hosts while they are present at the conference (BIS).

A panel discussion on digitalized monetary systems was attended by Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Changyong Rhee, governor of the Bank of Korea; Adrian Orr, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand; and Cecilia Skingsley, from the Bank for International Settlements. The panelists examined the growing popularity of digital assets and central bank digital currency (CBDC), in addition to the dangers that are linked with the recently established technology.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority highlighted the innovations and benefits brought about by blockchain technology, as well as the potential implications that it would have on central banks. He also underlined the conceivable effects that blockchain technology would have on monetary policy.

According to Yue, CBDCs and stablecoins may eventually be able to offer a way of transaction that is not only more efficient but also more cost-effective in the long run.

He did make the point, though, that every new piece of technology has its own unique set of hazards, whether they be innovation risks or operational risks, and that these risks are unavoidable.

Yue pointed out that blockchain is, by its very nature, a decentralized technology; as a result, it is far more difficult to mitigate the risks that are associated with on-chain activities.

The governor of the Bank of Korea, Changyong Rhee, has voiced some skepticism regarding the possible uses of blockchain technology in the future, especially in the financial sector. This is in light of the recent crypto outbreaks.