Current observation

Crypto-assets are democratising.

Shunned for a long time, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have carved out a place for themselves in the portfolios of major global institutional investors. Of these, 36% of the approximately 774 institutional investors surveyed in the United States and Europe between November 2019 and March 2020 say they own cryptocurrencies or derivatives, according to Bloomberg. In the United States, 27% of those investors, including pension funds and hedge funds are exposed to digital assets, an increase of 22% from last year. Cryptocurrencies are much more popular in Europe, however, only about half of the institutional investors surveyed, or 45%, own investments in this asset class.

Neophytes still can't have access to crypto.

Nowadays, even as crypto is becoming more and more popular, it is still difficult to clearly answer questions from beginner friends asking how you actually buy them. In fact, neophytes often face a dilemma when they want to enter this space as they have to choose between platforms with low fees that may be difficult to handle for beginners, or more ergonomic platforms that come with higher fees.

The result is that today, in many countries, especially in Europe, people are struggling to access regulated platforms to invest in crypto assets. Others, like Algeria, and Bolivia have gone as far as to ban the use of cryptocurrencies outright, even issuing fines to individuals who engage in these transactions. As these assets have continued to rise in popularity, so have government scrutiny and regulations. Investment in crypto assets continues to increase, with seemingly no end in sight. Unfortunately, complex platforms reserved for professional traders and user-friendly platforms that charge high brokerage fees of between 2-4% per transaction are often the only options available.

Regulation remains a problem.

Despite the adoption by many countries, crypto assets are being hit with intense regulations in several countries worldwide. Even in countries like China, which boasts the highest number of bitcoin miners, a mining crackdown, and intense regulatory activity has continued. As early as September 2021, China announced that it would be making all cryptocurrency transactions illegal. In the United States, an increasing pressure to regulate these assets builds, with the SEC looking to step in and further regulate this market. As more and more people are warned by their governments to stay away from crypto assets, labelling them dangerous, or speculative, at best, people remain invested in these assets.This is where the idea of providing a regulated environment to its users, so that they could safely invest in crypto assets started taking shape-eventually evolving into what Lyber is today. Like the gold rush, high potential returns come with high risks. For a non-educated newcomer in the crypto asset world, it is very easy to lose all of your assets. This occurs either because of a market crash, a scam, a rug or a bad attempt. Users do bear a part of this responsibility and should understand that they need to educate themselves with best practises before entering this space. However, even crypto veterans can be scammed, this is why regulation is needed to protect users and especially newcomers. Lyber's main objective is to provide access to crypto-assets and DeFi in a regulated and safe environment.