Evolving Money: Building Bridges with Bitcoin (Sponsored Content)

Because you're a subscriber to this Bloomberg podcast, we thought 0:00:03.520 --> 0:00:07.080 you'd be interested in a sponsored podcast called Evolving Money, 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:11.640 produced by Coinbase and Bloomberg Media Studios. It explores how 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:15.280 money has changed over the centuries and whether cryptocurrency is 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.319 just the next logical evolution of how we pay for 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:22.320 things and store long term value. Here is a recent episode. 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:25.480 So the other week, I happened to be cleaning out 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:28.480 my purse. I pulled out some spare keys, a pack 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:31.720 of gum. Finally I turned the whole thing inside out. 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.800 You know what fell out? My checkbook. I literally had 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:39.640 to dust it off. I remembered how, not so long ago, 0:00:39.800 --> 0:00:41.600 at the end of each month, I'd have to clear 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:43.920 off the kitchen table and make room for a big 0:00:43.960 --> 0:00:47.319 stackup bills, a checkbook, and some scratch paper, and I'd 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:49.879 tally up how much I owed. If I forgot to 0:00:49.960 --> 0:00:52.360 carry the two or my rent check got lost in 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:56.080 the mail, that tiny mistake could hurt my credit, maybe 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.040 worse if I wanted to open a new account or 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:02.920 get financial plans advice that could take days or weeks 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:05.839 to sort out. Long story short, there were all sorts 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:08.399 of hurdles to overcome just to do what I wanted 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:12.880 to do with my own money. Today, I can breathe easier, 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:15.760 I have my bills set to autopay, and I can 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:18.840 check my bank balance in real time on my phone. 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:21.520 I can even manage my investments without ever setting foot 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.200 in a bank or going through an intermediary. All of 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:28.240 this just goes to show how technology can reallypbend the 0:01:28.319 --> 0:01:32.360 financial status quo. Now we're looking at another seismic shift. 0:01:32.720 --> 0:01:36.080 As crypto and blockchain technology have evolved, they've opened up 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:39.400 a whole universe of options for investing and building businesses, 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:44.440 once again changing how people, both retail and institutional investors 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:53.160 handle money. Welcome back to Evolving Money from Coinbase and 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:57.760 Bloomberg Media Studios. I'm your host, Maggie Lake. On this podcast, 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.000 we take a different look at cryptocurrency. It's been cast 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:04.040 as a radical departure for the monetary system, But what 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.160 if it isn't radical at all, just the next logical 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:10.320 evolution of how we pay for things and store long 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.600 term value. Along the way, we'll explore how money has 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:16.480 changed over the centuries and look for lessons that might 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:21.080 predict its next evolution. Not so long ago, the advent 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:24.320 of the smartphone and mobile banking changed everything about how 0:02:24.360 --> 0:02:27.720 we deal with our money. With blockchain technology now feeling 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:32.160 a similar revolution, what new opportunities will it unlock for investors. 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:36.200 I'll talk to Samara Cohen, chief Investment Officer of ETFs 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:40.000 and Index Investments at Blackrock, who's helping educate investors on 0:02:40.080 --> 0:02:44.160 cryptocurrencies and harness their power. She'll talk us through three 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:48.360 promising avenues for investment that go beyond just holding bitcoin. 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:50.880 But first we'll hear the story of how the mobile 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.040 finance revolution began, opening the door for a host of 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:59.560 new products and forever altering the way we handle our money. 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:04.840 Apple had just launched the iPhone in two thousand and seven. 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:06.720 That's Tim Franz Massey. 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:07.519 Today. 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.640 Tim is the Transformation Program Director for Royal Navy at 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.960 Capital Limited. But back when the iPhone launched he worked 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:15.320 for the Royal Bank of Scotland. 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:18.200 Not that many people had them. It was the early 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:20.840 adopters that had them. I could see by talking to 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:24.440 my colleagues in the Internet banking part of Royal Bank Scotland. 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:28.440 So we were starting to see a few tens of 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:33.360 thousands of customers who had iPhones trying to access their 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:38.000 internet banking through their mobile Safari browser and their new 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:39.160 shiny iPhone. 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:41.600 But it's not like these phones had all the banking 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.480 apps we have now. The whole experience was pretty clunky, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:47.160 and on top of that, banks charged for the service. 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:51.040 Around the same time, RBS watched as big social media 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.480 platforms started launching apps on the iPhone. 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:57.480 Millions of downloads per week over a few weeks, and 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.480 Royal Bank Scotland's said, well, maybe there's an opportunity. See here, 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:05.040 we could grow further globally through this new technology of mobile. 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.600 Nobody's launched an IFA mobile banking app, yet, let's be 0:04:08.680 --> 0:04:10.760 the first. Let's find be the first to do that. 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.720 With the two thousand and eight financial collapse barely in 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:16.480 the rear view customers trust in banks was at an 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:20.080 all time low, RBS felt it was imperative to meet 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:23.920 customers where they were on their phones. In the fall 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:27.039 of two thousand and nine, RBS began ramping up to launch. 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:29.880 They planned to text a link to all of their customers, 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:32.880 making it as easy as possible to download the app, 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:36.960 and internally they estimated they could get about eighty thousand 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.920 downloads in the first week. If that, I. 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.160 Remember somebody in senior in marketing telling me, oh, you'll 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:44.839 never do that. If you do that, that'll be the 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:47.880 most successful products in the history of the bank. 0:04:48.360 --> 0:04:51.240 But Tim new they had something special. When the product 0:04:51.279 --> 0:04:54.560 launched in November two thousand and nine, RBS reached eighty 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:58.000 thousand downloads by the end of the first day. 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.040 The app is shooting up in the app store. At 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:03.760 one point we got to number four on the overall 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:05.360 UK app downloads. 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.560 Within a few weeks, they had hundreds of thousands of users. 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:13.039 As people flocked to mobile banking, RBS had to scramble 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.360 to make sure it had enough server power to keep 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:16.159 the app running. 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:20.200 It was just the fastest rollercoaster ride that I've ever 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:20.800 been on. 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:26.680 In May twenty eleven, RBS launched a new version of 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.800 the mobile app, one that allowed users to transfer money 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:33.120 between accounts. In the first six months, more than one 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:37.799 million users downloaded it, transferring more than one billion pounds 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:42.320 via their phones. A decade later, almost three quarters of 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:45.279 US consumers say they prefer to manage all of their 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:47.080 finances through a mobile app. 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:53.240 Certainly, the consumers benefited because it's much more convenient. You 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:54.960 can just sort of be on a conference score and 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:56.719 doing your banking on your phone. At the same time, 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:57.680 you can do it on the go. 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:01.239 Having banking apps on our phones made it much easier 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:04.000 to navigate the financial world. Today. We don't just use 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:06.560 them to check our balance. They cater to every need 0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:08.640 you could imagine. And the same can be said for 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:12.240 crypto investing. What started with bitcoin has evolved into a 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:14.240 whole universe of trading opportunities. 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.560 I've been interested in crypto since, you know, really the 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:24.920 early years, particularly in the post financial crisis years. 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:29.200 That's Samara Cohen, chief investment Officer of ETFs and Index 0:06:29.279 --> 0:06:30.480 Investments at black Rock. 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:36.240 We were looking at ways to modernize markets infrastructure because 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:39.960 there was a huge wave of financial regulation coming in 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:43.040 response to the financial crisis of two thousand and eight 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:48.920 that required creating more transparency, more reporting, more clearing, reductions 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:51.760 in counter party risk, a lot of things that in 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:57.839 theory it seemed blockchain technology might have relevance and application. 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:02.880 To blockchains and tokenization could facilitate record and streamline financial 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:07.400 transactions once both parties understood how to harness the new technology. 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:11.000 What do you believe was the tipping point that got 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:15.440 so many of your colleagues interested in learning about digital assets. 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:20.640 I think the tipping point was actually hiring a couple 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.520 of digital assets experts to come into the firm and 0:07:24.640 --> 0:07:29.440 help educate us, primarily by being translators. We needed help 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:31.480 doing that so that we could get a sense of 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:36.600 what the relevance was of this ecosystem as it was unfolding. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.160 Once our team understood the potential impact of these innovations, 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.920 Samara's task was to figure out how to use them 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:44.000 to help investors. 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:48.400 We would go away into different working groups to come 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:51.640 up with pilots and proofs of concept and think about, Okay, 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:56.000 are there blockchain technology applications to our different businesses, what 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:58.800 are the frictions that exist? And through that kind of 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:03.320 body of war and hands on engagement, we developed the 0:08:03.320 --> 0:08:06.440 ability to work with each other and start thinking much 0:08:06.480 --> 0:08:09.360 more strategically about ways we might participate. 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.080 Today, Samara is helping bridge the gap between crypto and 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:14.120 traditional finance. 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:17.240 I feel like I spend a lot of my time 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:22.720 increasingly trying to create a bridge between the two universes 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:27.280 because that integration of the best that's offered by blockchain 0:08:27.360 --> 0:08:30.680 technology and crypto and also the best that's offered by 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:36.319 the traditional financial ecosystem really creates the optimal outcomes for investors, 0:08:36.360 --> 0:08:39.120 and a lot of times that comes down to learning 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.680 how to speak the same language and defining our terms. 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:49.240 If you were to ask the average person on the 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:52.600 street for their thoughts on crypto, their answer would almost 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:57.520 certainly include the word bitcoin. But many people, serious investors included, 0:08:57.880 --> 0:09:01.080 still aren't familiar with how to invest in crypto Beyond 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:02.280 that single currency. 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:07.160 Crypto is actually a really very broad category. Let's unpack 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.440 what you're talking about when you say crypto, what does 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:12.520 that mean to you? And take it piece by piece. 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:16.200 Samara says that among the many options, there are three 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:20.480 chief avenues investors might consider. First, off, of course, they 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:24.800 can buy the actual cryptocurrencies themselves. Second, they can invest 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:29.160 through crypto ETPs or exchange traded products what most of 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.520 us refer to as ETFs. And third, they can buy 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:36.920 tokenized assets digital tokens which exist on a blockchain and 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:44.240 represent other digital or physical assets. First, let's look at cryptocurrencies. Again. 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.040 Many think of bitcoin as the cryptocurrency, but in reality, 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.960 there's a bunch of other cryptocurrencies out there. Samara says 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:54.840 it's important to consider what each type of currency brings 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:55.800 to a portfolio. 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:58.840 So then the question is what's the nature of the asset, 0:09:58.960 --> 0:10:03.959 what are its fundamental characteristics, what will drive appreciation or depreciation, 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:08.440 what are its liquidity characteristics, what's its volatility characteristics, and 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.559 how will it play in a diversified portfolio. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:17.400 Take Ether, a cryptocurrency that's been steadily gaining traction. While 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.199 Bitcoin was designed as a peer to peer payment system 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:23.520 and has evolved into a store of value for many investors, 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:27.840 Ether is different. Ether was created to power the Ethereum network. 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:31.360 That's a blockchain platform where people can build programs and apps. 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:36.600 That network provides the infrastructure for smart contracts quick refresher 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:39.640 Smart contracts are programs that enforce the terms of an 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:43.360 agreement automatically and instantly, and leave a permanent record of 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:48.560 the transaction on the blockchain. Some major players have already 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:52.920 adopted smart contracts using Ethereum and other blockchains. Last year, 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:56.280 Walmart used smart contracts to bring transparency to its food 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:59.720 supply chain in California. It was the DMV that tapped 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.440 into blockchain technology to digitize more than forty two million 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:07.520 car titles, giving drivers a safe, more efficient alternative to 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:12.400 standing in that dreaded DMV line, and the list goes on. IBM, 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:16.000 Microsoft and home Depot are just a few other household 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:19.719 names that have adopted smart contracts. A recent survey by 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:23.440 Deloitte showed that seventy two percent of executives believe smart 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:26.880 contracts will play a significant role in the future of 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:34.640 business and for individual investors, smart contracts make it easier 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:39.040 to trade on decentralized exchanges, where different cryptocurrencies are traded 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:43.720 securely without any organizational gatekeepers. Today, Ether is used to 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:47.960 power everything from decentralized finance apps to NFT marketplaces to 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:49.720 buying and selling carbon credits. 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:54.679 So I think anybody who is interested around blockchain technology 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:58.719 and its applications to finance is immediately drawn to the 0:11:58.760 --> 0:12:00.280 Ethereum ecosystem. 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.480 As investors learn about Ether's utility, they're using it more. 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:07.040 It's now the second biggest crypto asset behind bitcoin, but 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:11.680 investing in Ether, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as individual assets 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:15.080 is still only one of the many paths available to 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:19.600 the cryptocurious investor. Another new opportunity that's only recently opened 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:26.680 up investing in crypto ETPs or exchange traded products. You're 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.640 probably familiar with ETFs, exchange traded funds, which are a 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:31.520 type of ETP. 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:36.840 Part of what has really brought investors into exchange traded 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:41.120 products over the last twenty years has been their transparency 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:42.680 their accessibility. 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:46.760 With ETFs, investors can invest in and trade a basket 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:50.120 of securities just as easily as they can an individual stock. 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:54.160 That ease of access hasn't always been available to crypto investors, 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:58.160 especially those who want to include both traditional and crypto 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:01.880 assets in their portfolios. That's partly because buying and selling 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:06.120 crypto often happens outside of the mainstream financial system. 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:11.360 Investors who want access to those markets have found it 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:16.120 complicated to try to run portfolios on two different sets 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:16.720 of rails. 0:13:17.640 --> 0:13:19.920 Not too long ago, it might have seemed daunting to 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:24.280 integrate a digital currency into an existing portfolio of traditional assets, 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:28.520 but that's changing. In January twenty twenty four, the SEC 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:33.079 approved ETPs that held bitcoin. Then in July, Ethereum ETPs 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:37.360 received approval, giving investors access to Bitcoin and ether on 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:38.920 traditional stock exchanges. 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:46.079 For investors who are interested in investing in Bitcoin or ethereum, 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.640 the approvals have given them the ability to do that. 0:13:50.040 --> 0:13:56.040 In their kind of more familiar ETP ecosystem. For crypto investors, 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.160 the ETP approvals were a very important step forward. 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:07.719 With the introduction of Ether and Bitcoin ETPs, investors can 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:10.960 bring crypto into their portfolios in a way that feels 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:15.319 familiar using traditional investment tools, putting their money behind crypto 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:19.520 without buying the currency directly, and allowing them to integrate 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:23.920 both crypto and traditional assets into their portfolio seamlessly. 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:29.080 The idea that you could actually take cryptocurrencies and bring 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.800 them onto trad five rails in order to assess your 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:36.800 whole portfolio risks in one place is something that we 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.280 learned was really important to investors. 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:43.440 These ETPs gave crypto investors more ways to expand and 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.640 grow their investments, but they also brought a wave of 0:14:46.720 --> 0:14:50.440 new investors into the space. Bitcoin ETPs now account for 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:53.880 more than one hundred billion dollars worth of assets under management, 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:57.560 while Ether has reached twelve billion. And while there's certainly 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.600 been plenty of new individual investors, what's really noticeable is 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:05.800 the institutions that are getting on board. Once the approvals 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.320 took effect, it didn't take long for crypto ETPs to 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:14.400 make headlines in August, the state of Wisconsin announced that 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.240 it owned nearly one hundred million dollars worth of black 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:22.200 Rocks Spot bitcoin ETP. There is also Emory University fifteen 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:26.120 million dollars worth of bitcoin ETP holdings announced in October. 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.760 Last November, the state of Michigan made a splash when 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.280 its pension fund disclosed they had invested almost twenty million 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:37.400 dollars in both bitcoin and ether. These aren't just day 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.360 traders buying crypto. This is the State of Michigan we're 0:15:40.360 --> 0:15:42.920 talking about, and these are just a few of an 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.920 ever growing list of institutional investors entering the space. That 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:52.240 kind of mainstream adoption underlines how expanded access to cryptocurrencies 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:57.320 through traditional financial tools is creating opportunities and returns on 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:02.000 a new scale. And that brings us to the third 0:16:02.040 --> 0:16:06.320 opportunity for investors looking to expand their crypto investment strategy. 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:11.320 Tokenized assets. They're digital representations of a real world asset, 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.200 anything from real estate to intellectual property, or even shares 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:18.400 in a mutual fund that exists on a blockchain network, 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.920 and they've emerged as the latest option for investors looking 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:25.920 to harness the benefits of blockchain technology in their portfolios. 0:16:28.360 --> 0:16:31.120 How do you see that the role of tokenized assets 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:32.000 in a portfolio? 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:38.680 If I think about just portfolio construction, asset allocation, trading, 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:45.520 real world frictions with the existing investable assets that are 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:50.800 out there today, tokenization might reduce a lot of costs 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:56.680 and frictions associated with managing an investment portfolio. And of course, 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.920 if you lower costs and frictions, you increase returns. 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:05.840 One example, tokenized money market funds. Inefficiencies and counterparty risks 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:10.480 have long plagued MMF managers, but tokenized MMFs like black 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:14.320 Rocks have the potential to enable faster, seamless management of 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:18.560 treasury positions. Just as RBS's app open the floodgates for 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.639 a whole world of mobile banking, we may again be 0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:25.720 seeing how a single breakthrough can unlock all manner of benefits. 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:30.159 It's a technology that has the potential to make living 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:35.800 your financial life a lot easier, less complicated, and by extension, 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:39.959 less expensive, so that people can do better as investors. 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.440 As they begin to bridge the knowledge gap between traditional 0:17:45.520 --> 0:17:50.159 investment tools and cutting edge financial technologies, institutional investors of 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:54.560 all stripes are realizing how much their portfolios stand to benefit. 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:59.639 All indicators suggest that investors will continue exploring new cryptocurrencies 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.640 and investing in ETPs and tokenized assets. 0:18:03.240 --> 0:18:05.920 For me, twenty twenty four has been a year bridge building. 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:10.400 We have major bridges that have been tested and built 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:14.080 and succeeded. I think that's a really promising start to 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:19.879 what can hopefully be a more integrated ecosystem between the two. 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:23.760 Not even Steve Jobs could have predicted the way the 0:18:23.800 --> 0:18:27.359 iPhone would change the financial world. And now, as investors 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:31.760 warmed to the idea of investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.399 we're seeing the rise of a new set of financial 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.879 tools and services that are once again changing how we 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:41.520 handle money. Someday we may just look back on this 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:45.080 moment as another key inflection point in our money's history. 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:50.080 Thank you to samar Cohen and Tim Franz Massey. This 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:54.359 is Evolving Money, a podcast from Coinbase in Bloomberg Media Studios. 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:57.439 If you like what you hear, subscribe and leave us 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.440 a review. I'm Maggie Late. Thanks are listening.