Valkyrie’s Head Of Research Lists Top Two Lessons Learned After Almost A Decade In Crypto

Spending considerable time in any field is bound to yield important lessons. The fast-paced bourgeoning crypto industry is no exception. Beginning with the launch of bitcoin (BTC) in 2009, the cryptocurrency industry is a young sector comparatively. Josh Olszewicz, head of research for alternative asset management firm Valkyrie, has been in the game for almost a decade. The two most important things crypto has taught him? The importance of technology that allows for more transparency for starters.

“Don’t trust. Verify,” Olszewicz told me via email as one of the top things crypto has taught him. The phrase is a popular one in the crypto industry. “Bitcoin allows for peer-to-peer transactions to occur in a trustless manner thanks to the verifiable public ledger,” he elaborated.

“This concept is initially jarring and foreign to most people when initially encountered because most systems, especially money-related systems, rely on a trusted third-party. The creation of bitcoin and digital assets has brought a boom of decentralization, and with it decentralized and freely available transparent data. Therefore, most claims regarding activity, use, or volume are easily able to be investigated with minimal effort.”

Essentially, the crypto industry’s technology has ushered in the ability for people to check for themselves to see the truth (or lack thereof) regarding certain claims, rather than trusting what people or entities say, as explained by Olszewicz.

[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]

Crypto has been on Olszewicz’s radar since 2013. Laden with college debt, Olszewicz took to Reddit in search of “accessible alternative investing vehicles,” and ended up learning about bitcoin, he recalled. Since then he has become a notable name in the crypto industry, amassing a considerable Twitter following as @CarpeNoctom and writing for crypto media outlet Brave New Coin, among other endeavors.

Valkyrie, where Olszewicz currently serves as head of research, is a notable name in the crypto space. The firm’s bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) went live in the latter half of 2021 — a big deal for the crypto sector that has long pursued a bitcoin ETF of some kind. Two other similar bitcoin ETFs also exist, however, so Valkyrie is not the only player on the block with that type of product, nor was it the first.

The second key thing crypto has taught Olszewicz? “Delayed gratification, long-term investment horizons, and digital asset management,” he detailed.

“I would qualify myself as one of the ‘came for the investment, stayed for the tech’ type of people after HODLing through the 2014 and 2015 bear market because I thought the bitcoin technology was a significant advancement in a new form of currency,” said Olszewicz. Crypto going mainstream outpaced what he originally thought, although the crypto veteran has seen his investing perspective (crypto and otherwise) shaped by his optimism regarding crypto technology’s future, matched with not sweating daily price action.

“Bitcoin has also encouraged and rewarded delayed gratification and using a majority of the investment for significant life events rather than a more aggressive trading style,” he continued.

“This longer term approach has also shaped my views regarding digital asset management and the importance of understanding and interpreting data for investment analysis here at Valkyrie. A holistic high timeframe approach with multi-layered data points gives credence to the potential future of many burgeoning digital assets.”

Even though the crypto industry has amassed a large following, however, does not mean the relatively new technology is without its naysayers. A number of notable figures have expressed their doubts about crypto over the years, including names such as Warren Buffett and gold advocate Peter Schiff. Who could forget the time Buffett used the phrase “rat poison squared” to describe bitcoin.

Disclaimer: I actively trade cryptocurrencies, as well as hold a small amount of BTC, ETH, LTC, ZEC, BCH, LINK, SOL and CNFI.