It’s time investors take stock, but bitcoin has a future, says crypto exchange founder
Dave Chapman says interest in cryptocurrencies is rising from institutions, including private banks, many of whom are acting on demand from their clients
The hype around cryptocurrencies may be breaking. ICOs – initial coin offerings – where tokens are offered up in support of blockchains, have increased dramatically. The extent of the hype is underlined by Taobao vendors offering ghostwriting services for ICO whitepapers, according to a recent South China Morning Post report.
Regulators have fired warning shots and sounded notes of encouragement to the cryptocurrency/ICO market. China banned ICOs, stating that some 90 per cent were fraudulent. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission recently halted the ICO of Black Cell Technology, whose token, KROPS, purports to create a single market for all farmers and consumers.
And yet, the People’s Bank of China – the mainland’s central bank – is reportedly interested in developing a sovereign cryptocurrency. Jurisdictions in Europe and Japan are keen to host cryptocurrency exchanges and business, and institutional interest is growing.
Dave Chapman, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur, says the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are junk – estimating that just 10 per cent of the 2,000 or so coins out there are worth investing in. That said, in Chapman’s view, you’d be crazy to ignore them. “Everyone says crypto is so bad, but there’s no difference between this and any other time when people have gone into something (new),” Chapman says. “Is it new? Yes. Does it need to mature? Yes. Will it be regulated? Yes.”
In 2013, Chapman and two associates, Hugh Madden and Ken Lo, founded ANX International, a blockchain solutions provider and ANXPRO, a cryptocurrency exchange. More recently, Chapman has added a new business to ANX’s portfolio, Octagon Strategy, a cryptocurrency brokerage aimed at institutions and ultra high net worth individuals and their family offices.