A change of the season: from crypto winter to spring 

As cryptocurrency cannot seem to shake off its association with scams, hacks and criminal behaviour, adoption into our everyday lives has been progressing somewhat slowly, contrary to the immense potential the underlying technology has to offer.

Hence Cointelligence Co-Founder On Yavin believes that we are still in the midst of a crypto winter, but nonetheless sees a bright future, he told Cointext.

Running an impartial research consultancy and education business within the industry, On is at the forefront of technological advancements. 

“I think that cryptocurrency is the biggest revolution we ever had and there is no doubt that blockchain is going to be used in most industries out there- that’s why it’s such a big revolution,” he said, and added:

“Besides that, I’m super super excited about the fact that so many banks out there are already using blockchain”. 

More and more banks have officially announced that they are working on their own token or are involved with a blockchain project. It has been reported that the likes of JP Morgan, and also Wells Fargo invest heavily in the technology.

Calling out Libra

In On’s opinion, the buzzword ‘blockchain’ has been used to increase companies’ revenue streams rather than staying true to the original purpose of the technology.

“Libra is a made up cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is supposed to be used anywhere, everywhere, whenever- but Facebook control Libra completely. The investors that can join the project need to invest ten million or more. Again, that’s not cryptocurrency. With real  cryptocurrency, you’re supposed to be able to join the game, even if you’re not rich,” he said.

The bad actors in the industry are the ones who are slowing down progress and adoption. A lack of transparency and regulations leaves room for scammers to operate and misuse the trust of investors.

On’s job is to call them out.

“You have cases where exchanges are completely lying about regulation, their trading volume and about the audience they claim to have- some exchanges are saying that they have millions of users when in fact they don’t have more than dozens,” On recalled.

 

“We analysed more than 100 exchanges, at least half of them would not disclose who’s behind the exchange.”

How to fight the bad actors

Education is key when it comes to crime prevention in the industry. In order to attract the right investors in the right way, thorough research and training is the way forward.

At Cointelligence, it’s all about due diligence and accurate information before getting involved with any project.

Alongside supporting projects helping underdeveloped countries, On’s goal is to educate both technical and non-technical individuals who want to learn about blockchain and cryptocurrency focused topics. 

After all, On thinks crypto is the future:

“I don’t have any doubt that crypto is going to be a very, very huge deal. If there is any company out there that did not start to investigate or research the possibilities that they might have with blockchain or cryptocurrency, they’re making a huge mistake. They’re going to be left behind, no doubt about that.”

For more information go to Cointelligence Academy