AllianceBlock Driving DeFi Understanding In Swiss Crypto Heartland

Diplomacy and networking opportunities are ramping up to bring decentralised finance solutions into plain sight. Zug is one hive of activity.

As the crypto market and the infrastructure developing around it
continues to rub up against regulators, Swiss-based AllianceBlock has
announced that it is joining the Open Wealth Association. The
firm says the move is to help bridge the divide for Swiss banks
and wealth managers keen for more access to the emerging
decentralised banking environment.  

AllianceBlock is among the first DeFi businesses (short for
decentralised finance) chosen to join the association, which has
been the preserve of traditional financial institutions such as
Credit Suisse, LGT, and VP Bank.

As the name suggests, the Open Wealth Association has set its
sights on developing Application Programming Interface (API)
standards that lie at the heart of open banking, which are
increasingly being sort by global wealth managers looking for
more seamless financial information sharing.

AllianceBlock says membership into the circle of Switzerlands
most connected top-tier banking and traditional finance
institutions” underscores the growing institutional interest in
DeFi and a desire for DeFi players to have a seat at the table.

AllianceBlock tools and services include an NFT lending platform
for illiquid assets, such as art, collectables and illiquid
funds, and a decentralised investing platform for investors and
start-ups.

The drumbeat of the sector is to speed up adoption and
understanding of DeFi technologies and work in step rather than
against regulators and banks in support of finding a sweet spot
for integration.

One of the greatest challenges to widespread adoption and
integration of DeFi is a lack of understanding, AllianceBlock
CEO and founder Rachid Ajaja, said. In joining the Open Wealth
Association, AllianceBlock is opening its door to other members,
where we will both lend our expertise and learn from those
working at the forefront of change within the global financial
system. He said that the firm is well-poised to educate a new
network of institutional players about DeFis ability to reshape
financing. He added that the goal is to make it more open,
streamlined, and cost-effective.

In recent months, AllianceBlock has consolidated in Switzerland,
opening a new office in Zug. The firm joined the Crypto Valley
Association, which has attracted a cluster of blockchain
businesses to Zug, about an hour outside Zurichs banking hub.

The Ethereum Foundation set up camp in the town several years
ago, drawing in a supporting network of law firms, tax
specialists and accounting firms, and those organising smart
contracts on the blockchain.

Jurisdictions globally are vying for supremacy in the DeFi and
crypto space. Singapore, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Malta, and
New York are some of the centres throwing regulators and
practitioners into rooms to hash out clear and credible
compliance regimes in order for these efficiency driven
technologies to thrive. There are plenty of detractors, and
regulators are working at different speeds as they decide where
decentralised finance and traditional finance can coexist.

Private market momentum
The latest temperature check from Valk suggests that institutional
investors are steadily adopting DeFi solutions to fully leverage
their crypto and digital assets holdings. A recent survey of
institutional investors across eight major jurisdictions by the
platform provider found that roughly a third (30 per cent) of
those investing in digital assets currently are using
decentralized finance platforms, with two thirds saying they plan
to in the next year.

Valk says in most cases those already engaged are testing” the
market in terms of how DeFi works, and its available
infrastructure and liquidity.

The digital transaction and tokenization investment platform,
founded in 2019, says there has been substantial growth across
private markets this year as more financial institutions tap in
to secondary markets transactions for new revenue opportunities.

The total value of assets currently held in DeFi technologies is
estimated to be around $80 billion and forecast to grow to around
$200 billion by the end of next year.

The past nine months has seen phenomenal growth, but the private
markets sector is worth more than $100 trillion, and there is a
lot of work to do as well in other markets, co-founder and CEO
Antoine Loth, said.