20 December 2024
Ian Simpson | 2 min read
Offering innovative financial products based on crypto assets may sound exciting – but it isn’t easy. Especially for banks.
What kind of structuring is needed? How is trading executed? What kind of risks are involved – and how can you control those risks?
These are the kinds of questions that faced Vontobel, one of Switzerland’s earliest banks to offer crypto structured products. In the final 2024 episode of RULEMATCH Spot On, Vontobel Head Blockchain Solutions Florian Marty shares a “behind-the-scenes look at how the bank dealt with these topics in the past.
He also shares a first-hand look at how Vontobel is evolving its offering to grow and expand in the future…
Episode show notes:
(00:55) Intro
(2:03) The backstory of Vontobel’s entry into crypto
(3:39) Built “in-house” tech
(5:23) What was “under the hood” of the first crypto tracker certificate?
(7:25) Why plugging into “exchanges” was tough…
(8:30) Vontobel’s expertise in structured products
(9:56) The complexities of offering structured products
(11:45) The tough thing about sketchy counterparties…
(12:40) The “complexity” of pre-funded crypto trading
(13:05) Vontobel’s joint-venture for future crypto products
(14:15) The evolution of crypto products at Vontobel
(16:00) Changing investor appetite for crypto products
(17:31) The effect of other (new) crypto products
(19:16) Two minds and two profiles of crypto investors
(21:40) Balancing the needs/wants of private banking and investment banking
(22:50) Looking at Europe and MiCAR
(24:39) The challenge of a fragmented regulatory landscape
(26:00) Is the financialization of crypto good or bad?
(27:21) The prospects for a borrowing/lending market for crypto
(31:37) Will there be “regulated DeFi?”
(34:10) Learnings from a first attempt at a tokenized structured product
(36:49) Why a lack of proper exchanges is a problem
(37:32) Does it take a “big boy” like BlackRock to push adoption?
(39:02) What are clients asking for?
(41:33) Looking into the crystal ball
Follow on social media:
Disclaimer: The information contained in this podcast about RULEMATCH AG (“RULEMATCH”) and any guest company is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered exhaustive. They do not imply any elements of a contractual relationship nor any offering.