Cryptocurrency winter does not dampen appetite of companies and investors

The crypto winter experienced by Bitcoin and its peers over the last few months has not hampered the plans of financial market companies to launch platforms aimed at trading cryptocurrencies, nor has it cooled customer demand.

Nubank, BTG Pactual and XP Investimentos recently announced the start of offering services related to the crypto market, and large banks, such as Santander and Itaú, have created or are planning initiatives in the area.

The bet on the disruptive potential of the crypto universe in the medium and long term means that companies and individual investors do not feel discouraged by the strong price correction recently verified – the main cryptocurrency on the market has accumulated a devaluation of about 56% in 2022, until 26 August— in a context of rising interest rates in developed markets.

Proof of the demand that remains heated by the crypto universe can be taken by Nubank customers.

The fintech announced at the end of July that it had reached one million customers on its platform for the purchase of Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrencies, just three weeks after making the tool available to its entire customer base. The minimum contribution starts from R$ 1.00.

“Cryptocurrency volatility is not directly associated with the technology’s future prospects. Nubank believes in the disruptive potential of the cryptocurrency market and we are thinking about the long term based on the fact that most of our customers are interested in the subject”, says Thomaz Fortes, leader of Nubank Crypto.

Fortes says it is difficult to predict future performance, and past returns are no guarantee of future returns, but adds that the main point to highlight around the crypto market is the disruptive potential of the technology behind it, something that, in his opinion, valuation, transcends price volatility.

“This alone already mobilizes enthusiasts and mass adoption in all corners of the world, presenting itself as a trend and whose use has been studied or implemented in several segments, such as the billionaire game market, for example”, says the executive. .

Potential to change the course of the financial industry, says BTG

At BTG, the cryptocurrency offering started on August 16th, through the launch of the crypto-asset platform Mynt.

Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, Polkadot and Cardano cryptocurrencies are available at Mynt, with a minimum contribution of BRL 100.

Head of the “digital assets” area at BTG Pactual, Andre Portilho says that the selection of cryptos on offer considered, first of all, the relevance of Bitcoin within the ecosystem, and, in the case of the other four, the seriousness in the development of projects and the potential for new business creation enabled through these platforms.

“The potential we see for the future of crypto technology is to change the paths along which transactions in the financial industry walk, and, eventually, in other industries as well,” says Portilho.

He says that it is necessary to separate the volatility in market prices, influenced by macroeconomic factors unrelated to the cryptocurrency universe, such as interest rates in the US, from the potential that technology can bring as a means of disintermediation of financial negotiations.

The executive adds that BTG was the first bank in the country to “tokenize” a portfolio of real estate assets and distribute the digital assets to investors, in mid-2019, and that the launch of Mynt is a natural step in the evolution process of the company. operation.

“We believe that there is a demand for this new asset class, and that there is a demand to do this through better-known platforms”, says Portilho.

Genial has plans to launch crypto platform in September

In the wake of recent launches in the local market, Genial Investimentos also has plans to launch, in mid-September, a tool within the broker’s app to offer clients the ability to trade cryptocurrencies.

“We noticed a demand from customers and we understand that we were able to serve the public that is looking for these products in the country very well”, says Rodrigo Haluska, partner and director of electronic trading at Genial.

Haluska says that both the economy, as well as the markets in general, are marked by great cycles, whether up or down.

And, although we are still in the middle of the crypto winter, with no turnaround expected anytime soon, the exchange’s view is that, from a medium and long-term perspective, the niche market still has extraordinary potential to be tapped.

“We’ve been working on the project for almost a year, before this winter, as people have called it, and we think it’s a moment of opportunity”, he says.

The Genial partner prefers not to reveal yet which digital assets will be made available by the crypto platform, but states that the segment is much broader than cryptocurrencies, and includes all the possibilities offered by the blockchain network to transform virtually any financial asset into a digital asset within the ecosystem.

Along these lines, on July 14, Itaú announced the launch of its “digital assets” division, whose proposal is precisely to make use of the potential of the blockchain network to transform traditional market assets into digital assets, in order to make them accessible to as many customers as possible.

The president of Santander, Mário Leão, said that the Spanish bank plans to launch a tool in the coming months that gives customers the option to trade cryptocurrencies.

The Genial partner also says that the estimate is to have between 10% and 20% of the total base of approximately one million customers operating crypto assets through the broker’s platform during the coming months.

Analyst recommends 2% wallet exposure to cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrency specialist at investment analysis company Nord Research, Luiz Pedro Andrade says that the new platforms that have hit the market can be a good alternative for those who are already customers of the institutions responsible for the tools and who are interested in taking the first step. in the crypto market.

He points out, however, that the short-term prospects remain uncertain for cryptocurrencies, in a scenario of high interest rates and risk of recession in developed markets.

Even because of this, the analyst’s recommendation is that the allocation within an investment portfolio does not exceed 2% in cryptocurrencies.

Furthermore, he says that the investment should not be made all at once, but preferably through some separate allocations, in order to dilute the risk of putting the money on the eve of a sharper adjustment in the market and losing the opportunity to buy at more inviting prices.

“I think the recent fall represents a good moment for anyone interested in starting to invest, but always with a lot of parsimony and a well-defined risk management”, says Andrade.