Summit Live: Crypto is the ‘rock and roll’ of this generation
Digital assets are here to stay according to expert panelists at City PM’s summit who dubbed crypto the ‘rock and roll’ of this generation.
At a panel discussion chaired by tech journalist Monty Munford speakers were emphatic that young people will be at the forefront of crypto adoption going forwards. A staggering 20 per cent of the world’s 125m strong crypto community are estimated to be under the age of 18 according to MELD co-founder Ken Olling.
Rock and Roll
“The rock and roll of this generation is crypto,” said Clem Chambers of Online Blockchain. “Crypto will change the world.”
While large institutional investors account for the majority of capital flowing into Decentralized Finance, the ecosystem of crypto projects which offer decentralised alternatives to the financial services traditionally offered by banks, young people are a key group driving retail adoption.
“They are working with derivatives and liquidity, but can’t get bank accounts,” panelist Ken Olling said.
“They can play fortnite and tell you what a Fibonacci retracement is,” he continued, confirming he has met an 18 year old who was able to draw down $500k from his crypto holdings on his birthday.
“DeFi is finance without gatekeepers,” continued Olling, stressing the broad appeal of alternative crypto assets. “That’s what has been magnetic about it for the past year and a half.”
A risky game
While DeFi adoption has surged during the pandemic there are still a number of barriers to widespread adoption and the panel remained split on whether young people should be dipping their toes in murky and unpredictable crypto projects.
Monty Munford confirmed that even the experts can get their fingers burned when it comes to investing in DeFi revealing that £25k of Ether stolen from his account in 2018 would now be worth £500k.
Read more: Surging DeFi adoption driven by experienced traders