A decade ago, crypto currencies were barely an invention yet growth in recent years has been something of an explosion.
At its most simplest level, crypto currencies are units of money created by software and encrypted by a technology that is known as blockchain. Like any asset, crypto currencies are valued based on supply and demand metrics, and influenced by what is known as ‘mining’ costs among other factors. But unlike traditional currencies, there is no central bank to regulate money supply or implement fiscal initiatives that can help control monetary values. Indeed, crypto assets as a sector lack regulation in a number ways when compared to traditional currencies.
This could soon be changing however.
Following six months of submissions by the FCA, the Treasury, The Bank of England and over 50 other industry experts, an expert committee reached the conclusion that both blockchain and crypto assets are here to stay, and the Treasury committee has urged the government to introduce new laws to regulate these digital currencies in the belief that the introduction of regulation in this asset class will likely lead to positive outcomes for those investing in the crypto asset market.
Indeed, with the Bank of England having already stated that blockchain technology “through the creation of instant, permanent and immutable records of transactions enhances transparency and auditability” of transactions, if the UK develops an appropriate and proportional regulatory environment for crypto assets as a whole, the UK could be well placed to become a global centre for this activity.
Join us in an exclusive webinar to discuss the evolution of this asset class, and what the latest committee report regarding regulation could means for investors. With a guest panel including Peter Schwabach of Shield Investment Management and Simon Wajcenberg of North Block Capital, the webinar will investigate why failing to regulate the market would impede it’s growth and the participation of institutional investors, as well as exploring the growing importance and value of this market.
Presenters
Simon is an entrepreneur with a stellar track record in founding pioneering global digital businesses. Simon has founded and built build numerous successful businesses including Stocknet.co.uk, one of the UK's first online stock brokerages, in 1998. In 1999 Simon founded Freequotes.co.uk, the UK's first real-time share price information provider, and TMN Plc, one of the first online direct marketing companies, which was listed on AIM in 2000. TMN today has a market capitalization in excess of £100M. In 2010 Simon founded StrikeAd, the worlds first global, mobile Demand side Platform (DSP). StrikeAd operates in Europe, U.S and Asia. In 2013 Simon launched K1T Capital a systematic quant based hedge fund asset management company. In 2017 Simon launched POWtoken.com the world’s first crypto currency for the mass market. POW is integrated with major social media partners Facebook and Twitter, and is experiencing exponential growth. Most recently Simon launched North Block Capital an asset manager investing in Blockchain and crypto assets.Simon has extensive international board-level expertise, vast experience in M&A and was a winner in the finals of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.
Peter Schwabach is one of the UK’s leading energy infrastructure funders. A career in fixed income sales at Goldman Sachs in London then led in 2010 to a focus on renewable energy infrastructure: He co-founded the £45m Hazel Capital Renewable Energy VCT Fund and established Thurlestone Capital as the one of the UK’s largest renewable energy developers. Thurlestone acted as the corporate finance adviser to the £1.3bn Dudgeon Offshore Wind farm, the fourth largest wind farm built in the UK. In 2014 Peter co-founded in 2014 the specialist Precision Engineering fund management company CIM LLP for which he was awarded the Most Impactful Growth investor award in November 2016. He co-founded Shield Investment Management in September 2017 as a specialist fund manager focusing on the commercial applications of super-computers on AI, Blockchain and Robotics. Peter sits on the advisory Boards on the National Centre for Nuclear Robotics, the Faraday Institute and the National centre for Quantum Technology. Shield is launching this month the UK’s first Blockchain Infrastructure fund, investing in and operating the global super-computers that are paid to effect global transactions across the Blockchain. Peter is a graduate of Oriel College Oxford.
Hardeep Tawakley joined Incisive Media’s content division in January 2017 as a content strategist. She was previously a journalist for over a decade, most recently for Investment Week where she was features & comment editor.
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