M2 at European Blockchain Convention

M2 at European Blockchain Convention

Last week, we took to Barcelona to join fellow blockchain enthusiasts and experts for the European Blockchain Convention. The two-day institutional-orientated conference served as a tremendous opportunity to engage and network with leading voices and participate in pivotal discussions surrounding adoption, regulation, and growth in the European crypto market. 

We were able to strengthen our international relationships, foster potential partnerships, and gain a greater understanding of the current regulatory landscape within the European Union, as well as share updates on the market and our movements in the UAE. 

MiCA and the Regulatory Landscape

M2’s Chief Product Officer, Sudhu Arumugam participated in one of the most popular panels of the week, titled ‘Will MiCA Be the Silver Bullet to Make the EU the Global Crypto Leader?’ alongside fellow panellists Philipp Bohrn, VP of Regulatory Compliance at Bitpanda, Ana Carolina Oliveira, Chief Compliance Officer at Venga, Eric Viohl, Managing Director at Crypto Finance, Marina Villalonga Cladera, Partner at Asensi Abogados, and moderator Gillian Lynch, Head of Ireland and Europe at Gemini. And while M2 does not have any current standing in Europe, we took it as an opportunity to learn from European experts, hear about the current and future implications of the EU’s regulatory framework, as well as draw comparisons to regulation in the UAE. 

One of the important challenges addressed was the fact that many EU-based virtual asset firms are having to deny users access to the products they want, knowing they may turn to other platforms that offer those options. And those options will often come from new and potentially unregulated players. 

On a global scale, we saw the participants discuss big differences between Asia and Europe, specifically that Asia is predominantly for trading while Europe is about earning yield and long term investment positions. Sudhu also added important insight to the conversation by discussing operational complexities, entry strategies into European markets, and how M2 navigates regulatory challenges in their relevant jurisdictions. As an exchange sitting outside the EU, but looking to expand operations, Sudhu was able to speak to the existence of businesses pitching themselves as a “quick one stop set up shop” for licensing. The overall consensus was that for MiCA to really be a silver bullet, how it interacts internationally with other licenses needs to be explored.

Institutional Investment Trends

Later that afternoon, Sudhu moderated a panel on institutional investments, titled, 'The BTC and ETH ETFs Were Supposed to Bring Real Institutional Adoption - But Are They?' – another one of the most powerful panels of the event.

Alongside panel guests Matthew Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at  Bitwise Asset Management, Adrian Fritz, Head of Research at 21Shares, Elliot Johnson, Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Evolve ETFs, and Duncan Moir, Senior Investment Manager at abrdn, the discussion covered the growing role of institutional players in crypto markets, exploration of staking products and crypto options as leading contenders for institutional portfolios, and how the recent approval and interest in BTC and ETH ETFs is accelerating adoption among traditional asset managers.

The specific point was made that while inflows from an institutional side were far smaller in comparison than retail flows, the estimated 20% is significant from an institutional side given the complexity involved for institutional players to adopt a financial product and ‘move the needle’. Interestingly it was shared that close to 70% institutional asset managers have crypto (including ETFs) in their own portfolio allocation. With real world adoption already in place, Sudhu asked the question, so what’s next? With staking products and options emerging as firm contenders. 

Additional Insights

Conversations surrounding interoperability and cross-chain capabilities were another highlight of the conference, just as they were with Token2049 Singapore. In a panel titled “Infrastructure Interoperability and Multi-chain Networks” team members from Dora, Bitpanda, the European Commission, Injective Foundation, DMD Diamond, and Skythread discussed the importance of building infrastructure that facilitates better cross-chain capabilities as well as supporting multi-chain networks, and the potential of interoperability to influence greater public interest and adoption. This was also seen as an ongoing trend throughout our discussions with other key opinion leaders in the space.

Additional insights we provided surrounding the importance of institutional staking. This topic was supplemented by a panel discussion between members of Kiln, Blockdaemon, and The European Blockchain Association on a panel discussing “The State of Staking Infrastructure”. While staking became a mainstream topic of conversation earlier in 2023, especially following the Ethereum Merge, it was an important reminder that the conversation is still strong and should be a major focus for institutional-grade providers across the industry. 

The Community

A special thanks to members of Spain’s thriving blockchain ecosystem, who traveled not just to the convention from across the country, but our filming suite to meet in person, exchange ideas, and explore the latest industry trends from token trading, retail and institutional appetite and regulatory updates. We loved learning what excites you and look forward to seeing the content come out on your channels. 

After dark, the conversation continued with over 600 conference attendees flocking to M2’s ‘Crypto After Hours’ event. Needless to say with so many crypto enthusiasts, and influential opinion leaders coming together, the atmosphere was dynamic. 

Special Thanks

A huge thank you to the organizations that hosted us during our stay in Spain, particularly Mastercard, Galaxy, GK8 and AllUnity for such tremendous hospitality. We look forward to returning it when you’re in the UAE. 

Post TOKEN 2049, The European Blockchain Convention proved itself as another valuable addition to what many call the ‘crypto conference’ tour. With new connections formed both with our community and other institutional players, we were able to deepen our understanding of the MiCA regulatory framework, and learn more about European operations.