Bit Panda – a financial technology firm based in Vienna, Austria – has stated that it’s going to be reverting back to the ways of traditional finance (or tradfi) in coming weeks and months and somewhat step away from the cryptocurrency and defi spaces.
Bit Panda Wants a More Traditional Route
The digital currency arena hasn’t been doing too well as of late. The price of bitcoin, for example, was trading at a new all-time high of about $68,000 per unit in November of last year. Now, 11 months later, the currency is struggling just to maintain a position in the low $20K range. In addition, the valuation of the entire crypto market has seemingly fallen by around $2 trillion during this time as well.
As a result, Bit Panda is looking to step away from the digital world of investing and offer people more traditional tools. The company said it is aiming to provide people with commodities such as oil, natural gas, and wheat to trade and invest in. Eric Demuth – CEO of Bit Panda – says that the company’s customers have made new demands in recent weeks that have caused the line between both defi and traditional finance to thin out somewhat.
In an interview, he stated:
People want to be able to trade multiple asset classes, and tradfi is catching up to that idea. Tradfi has focused on expanding its accessibility, and that is driving a convergence. There is still some way to go before [it] can claim to have the same level of usability and accessibility offered by fintech.
Defi has also gotten a knack for being somewhat unsafe, recently. While the arena undoubtedly gives people more financial independence and decision-making power, it also lacks safety and regulatory tactics that keep hackers and other malicious actors out of the fray.
As a result, cybercrime in the defi world has grown exponentially over the past year or so, and everyone is at risk of losing their money due to the lack of KYC (know your customer) protocols in play. Demuth further said:
Cryptocurrency investors tend to be involved in tradable markets. They also appreciate the simplicity offered by platforms that allow them to make investments into multiple asset classes.
The Payment Method Outlet Is Getting Bigger
While investing in crypto may have taken something of a back seat over the past eight months, digital assets have garnered new appeal as payment methods, with several leading companies and retailers – such as popular fast-food chain Chipotle – suddenly saying that they are willing to accept assets like BTC for payment.
This creates a whole new issue in that while digital currency prices are indeed falling at the time of writing, you now have several companies suddenly seeing BTC and related altcoins in the light they’ve always been designed for.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/crypto-firm-bit-panda-seeks-to-offer-traditional-commodities/