Jan. 17, 2020

071: Money Talks #7: Blockchain Predictions 2020 - Part I

071: Money Talks #7:  Blockchain Predictions 2020 - Part I

Matthew LeMerle from Blockchain Coinvestors joins Pete Townsend for a two-part series on his predictions for how blockchain will impact the world in 2020, with Part I focusing on central bank issued digital currencies, embracing bitcoin in developing nations, and institutional adoption of digital assets.

This episode is kindly sponsored by Ireland’s fintech and financial services recruitment specialists, Top Tier Recruitment.  If you would like an intro to the team at Top Tier Recruitment, please click here.

Matthew LeMerle is the Managing Partner of Fifth Era and Keiretsu Capital, who combined are the most active early stage venture investors backing almost 200 companies a year.  Matthew is also the co-founder and managing partner of Blockchain Coinvestors, who are investing in the leading blockchain venture partnerships.

In December 2019, Matthew featured on a Blockchain Coinvestors webinar where he walked through his ten predictions on blockchain for 2020.  The ongoing conflation of 'enterprise blockchain' and 'blockchain-inspired' developments for corporates and institutions, with the merits of the original bitcoin blockchain and the 'crypto-first' mentality, means that a lot of discussions on blockchain can get as excitable as a dog in a butcher shop.  On this episode, we talk about both crypto-first topics as well as enterprise blockchain, as both are playing a role in the continued digitalization of financial markets and money.

Given the length of the discussion between Matthew and Pete, we split this feature into two parts, with Part I covering Matthew's first six predictions, along with Pete's reflections on each one:

  1. G7 / EU nations will announce digital monies
  2. Developing nations will embrace bitcoin
  3. Banks will offer crypto access and custody
  4. Hybrid wallets will become available everywhere
  5. Asset players first deploy blockchain in back offices
  6. No ETFs….indexes and funds will gather assets fast

We cover the last four predictions in Part II on episode 72 to be released on January 24, 2020, so check that out for the rest of the list.  If you would like an intro to Matthew, please click here

To listen to more, please visit https://www.moneyneversleeps.ie/ for all of our other episodes.  Also, follow us on Twitter @MNSShow for updates and more information.