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"Blockchain is not the product, it’s what it enables and the operational benefits it can create."
"Blockchain is not the product, it’s what it enables and the operational benefits it can create."
"Blockchain is not the product, it’s what it enables and the operational benefits it can create."
Q. What do you think matters most in crypto right now, and what makes you say that?
Institutional infrastructure and regulatory clarity. Blockchain technology has promised a lot over the years and we are seeing large institutions start to integrate it into businesses in various forms. The Bitcoin ETF approvals were a pivotal point and every major financial institution is starting to build digital asset capabilities across the market. There is still a lot of regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the US with the Clarity Act, which needs to be solved but there are many other jurisdictions that are making good progress; in particular the UAE which has developed a very progressive and robust framework.
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Q. When you look at the next 2–3 years, what changes do you expect - technically, economically, or socially?
I expect tokenization of traditional financial products to move from pilot stage to real AUM and stablecoins to become core infrastructure for many financial systems such as payments and cross-border settlement. I hope the bigger shift will be social, crypto stops being a debate about legitimacy and becomes a conversation about which parts are actually useful as a lot of the extractive projects over the years are replaced by real products that solve real problems.
Q. What’s a belief you’ve changed your mind about in crypto, and what caused the shift?
The balance between transparency and privacy. I used to think that one of the core selling points was being able to see everything on-chain but there is a balance that needs to be solved for and many reasons why privacy is important in certain circumstances to protect users.
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Q. Where do you see the biggest gap between what builders are creating and what users actually need?
Builders are still mostly building for crypto-native users. The real gap is in making products that look and feel familiar to traditional investors and removing complexity, not creating it. Blockchain is not the product, it’s what it enables and the operational benefits it can create.
Q. If you could redesign one part of today’s crypto ecosystem from scratch, what would you change and why?
More focus on cross-chain interoperability. The current experience of moving assets between networks is fragmented and complicated. If seamless, secure communication between chains had been built from the start, we'd have eliminated one of the biggest barriers user adoption and removed a lot of complexity.
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About Elliot Andrews
Elliot is the CEO of Aspen Digital, an independent private wealth management platform for family offices and ultra-high net worth clients allocating into digital assets across Asia and the Middle East. Regulated in Abu Dhabi under ADGM, they provide a full suite of products and services across the digital asset class to provide clients with access to trading, hedge funds, venture capital and custody.
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Q. What do you think matters most in crypto right now, and what makes you say that?
Institutional infrastructure and regulatory clarity. Blockchain technology has promised a lot over the years and we are seeing large institutions start to integrate it into businesses in various forms. The Bitcoin ETF approvals were a pivotal point and every major financial institution is starting to build digital asset capabilities across the market. There is still a lot of regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the US with the Clarity Act, which needs to be solved but there are many other jurisdictions that are making good progress; in particular the UAE which has developed a very progressive and robust framework.
Q. When you look at the next 2–3 years, what changes do you expect - technically, economically, or socially?
I expect tokenization of traditional financial products to move from pilot stage to real AUM and stablecoins to become core infrastructure for many financial systems such as payments and cross-border settlement. I hope the bigger shift will be social, crypto stops being a debate about legitimacy and becomes a conversation about which parts are actually useful as a lot of the extractive projects over the years are replaced by real products that solve real problems.
Q. What’s a belief you’ve changed your mind about in crypto, and what caused the shift?
The balance between transparency and privacy. I used to think that one of the core selling points was being able to see everything on-chain but there is a balance that needs to be solved for and many reasons why privacy is important in certain circumstances to protect users.
Q. Where do you see the biggest gap between what builders are creating and what users actually need?
Builders are still mostly building for crypto-native users. The real gap is in making products that look and feel familiar to traditional investors and removing complexity, not creating it. Blockchain is not the product, it’s what it enables and the operational benefits it can create.
Q. If you could redesign one part of today’s crypto ecosystem from scratch, what would you change and why?
More focus on cross-chain interoperability. The current experience of moving assets between networks is fragmented and complicated. If seamless, secure communication between chains had been built from the start, we'd have eliminated one of the biggest barriers user adoption and removed a lot of complexity.
About Elliot Andrews
Elliot is the CEO of Aspen Digital, an independent private wealth management platform for family offices and ultra-high net worth clients allocating into digital assets across Asia and the Middle East. Regulated in Abu Dhabi under ADGM, they provide a full suite of products and services across the digital asset class to provide clients with access to trading, hedge funds, venture capital and custody.
Q. What do you think matters most in crypto right now, and what makes you say that?
Institutional infrastructure and regulatory clarity. Blockchain technology has promised a lot over the years and we are seeing large institutions start to integrate it into businesses in various forms. The Bitcoin ETF approvals were a pivotal point and every major financial institution is starting to build digital asset capabilities across the market. There is still a lot of regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the US with the Clarity Act, which needs to be solved but there are many other jurisdictions that are making good progress; in particular the UAE which has developed a very progressive and robust framework.
Q. When you look at the next 2–3 years, what changes do you expect - technically, economically, or socially?
I expect tokenization of traditional financial products to move from pilot stage to real AUM and stablecoins to become core infrastructure for many financial systems such as payments and cross-border settlement. I hope the bigger shift will be social, crypto stops being a debate about legitimacy and becomes a conversation about which parts are actually useful as a lot of the extractive projects over the years are replaced by real products that solve real problems.
Q. What’s a belief you’ve changed your mind about in crypto, and what caused the shift?
The balance between transparency and privacy. I used to think that one of the core selling points was being able to see everything on-chain but there is a balance that needs to be solved for and many reasons why privacy is important in certain circumstances to protect users.
Q. Where do you see the biggest gap between what builders are creating and what users actually need?
Builders are still mostly building for crypto-native users. The real gap is in making products that look and feel familiar to traditional investors and removing complexity, not creating it. Blockchain is not the product, it’s what it enables and the operational benefits it can create.
Q. If you could redesign one part of today’s crypto ecosystem from scratch, what would you change and why?
More focus on cross-chain interoperability. The current experience of moving assets between networks is fragmented and complicated. If seamless, secure communication between chains had been built from the start, we'd have eliminated one of the biggest barriers user adoption and removed a lot of complexity.
About Elliot Andrews
Elliot is the CEO of Aspen Digital, an independent private wealth management platform for family offices and ultra-high net worth clients allocating into digital assets across Asia and the Middle East. Regulated in Abu Dhabi under ADGM, they provide a full suite of products and services across the digital asset class to provide clients with access to trading, hedge funds, venture capital and custody.
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