When the world began to shut down last March, there was much uncertainty about the impact it would have on the cryptosphere. The overarching theme for crypto today, however, is much clearer after a year of great change and growth for the industry, one in which institutional investors came up the crypto learning curve from 2018, and financial institutions began large scale rollouts.
As we embark on a year full of opportunities, we thought what better time to launch our blog! We’re excited to kick off the series with some of our broader predictions for the crypto landscape in 2021, as well as provide a recap of some of our 2020 highlights.
Three predictions for 2021
- CLEARER REGULATORY GUIDANCE TO BOOST ADOPTION
Recent adoption of crypto by retail and institutional investors alike is proof that good innovation will prosper in all market cycles. A financial regulator’s role is to ensure market stability at all times, especially in times of turbulence and change. We believe the accelerated adoption of crypto by larger financial institutions alongside fintech providers will require regulators in all jurisdictions to formalize policies. When it comes to regulation, clarity of rulings is more important than direct positive rulings. Therefore, as an industry, we do not need the regulatory hurdles to be lowered for adoption, we need clarity. Regulators have given all indications that they are indeed moving in this direction.
- LARGER, TRADITIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO START OFFERING CRYPTO SERVICES
At Omniex, we believe crypto is indeed a new asset class. The momentum has clearly taken hold in the retail space driven by the demands of the millennial generation and spearheaded by fintech providers’ ability to innovate. Therefore, interacting with this new crypto asset alongside more traditional asset classes is a natural extension for larger, traditional financial institutions either on the backs of client demand or driven by the fear of being left behind. Coupled with the additional regulatory clarity from our previous point, institutional adoption of crypto assets is no longer just a hypothesis but a reality to be expected.
- DECENTRALIZED FINANCE (DEFI) TO GAIN ADDITIONAL MOMENTUM
We believe Centralized Finance (CeFi) and DeFi are not mutually exclusive. These two models can complement each other in many useful ways, particularly in the context of consumer-related services. We are also believers that institutional finance has a higher bar to adoption due to the size of transactions and regulatory needs. Therefore, the adoption of new innovation comes faster in the consumer space. So while CeFi adoption and offering around crypto will continue to accelerate this year, DeFi will gain additional momentum more so in the consumer space by either creating or validating new models in financial services that CeFi alone cannot create.
Looking Back on 2020…
Despite a year that saw many ups and downs for the crypto community, Omniex is grateful for the growth and opportunity we received. In early spring, we announced our partnership with Swiss securities giant SIX Group, aiming to offer an end-to-end solution for the trading and settlement of digital assets, alongside the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX). With this strategic partnership came another major accomplishment for Omniex: we closed our series A funding round led by SIX Group.
Throughout 2020, we continued to expand Omniex Edge, our integrated PMS, OMS and EMS front-office solution focused on lowering the barrier to entry for clients adopting this new asset class. We increased our connectivity to over 30 exchange and OTC venues and added support for perpetual swaps and futures products alongside spot offerings. Our suite of execution algorithms (passive, benchmark and situational), with added pre and post-trade analytics, have seen tremendous usage growth and proved that best-execution can be achieved in the crypto market just like traditional asset classes.
Equally important, we’ve expanded our offerings. With the increase in adoption of crypto by institutions and intermediaries, we’re seeing a need for services by institutions beyond just direct buy-side trading clients. Intermediaries such as brokers and dealers, fintech providers, custodians, neo and traditional banks are all looking for solutions to meet the needs of their downstream clients. Leveraging our buy-side offering, Omniex has expanded to create a solution suited for intermediaries, service providers and sell-side organizations. We’re adding white-labled front end services, market making and rate generation services, and risk management solutions matching the needs of agency desks, riskless and full principal models as well.
Our dedication to simplifying access to crypto for institutional clients is unwavering. What we have seen in the past year further validates our conviction. In the year ahead, we look forward to working with new and existing clients alongside partners to continue paving the way for the institutional adoption of crypto and digital assets.
We finish with a big “thank you” to our clients and partners for your continued support.
To everyone, be sure to stay tuned for more Omniex news and updates throughout 2021!