There is a divide between the portrayal of digital assets, CBDCs, neo-banks and brokers and their current status of adoption in non-specialized news outlets. This skewed perspective can notably impact the strategy with which some companies, organizations and governments embrace or discount their raisons d'être and the ways in which they could be leveraged for positive change.
To contribute to a nuanced debate, I gladly contribute to articles, podcasts and other forms of media coverage.
Panel: Digital Euro – Waiting for the ECB Decision in Autumn
This panel explores the much-anticipated topic of the Digital Euro and the, by the time of airing, forthcoming decision by the European Central Bank (ECB). As the world moves towards a digital future, the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the Eurozone has gained significant attention. This panel brought together distinguished experts, policymakers, and industry leaders to shed light on the prospects, challenges, and implications surrounding the Digital Euro, Jointly, we also took a look at stablecoins and their role in establishing a Digital Euro.
Panel: Stablecoins – Enabler for Borderless Work?
With the development of blockchain technology thirteen years ago, payments without intermediaries became possible. While Bitcoin was the only crypto asset back then, today thousands of tokens have emerged. While most tokens are very volatile, e.g. Bitcoin facing price changes of over 30% within twenty-four hours, stablecoins are mostly pegged to the US-Dollar, promising the benefits of fast and easy payments combined with the stability of the US-Dollar. Can stablecoins solve the problems of today's cross-border payments, such that workers from around the globe can get paid by employers easily, no matter where they are?
Panel: Crypto, the Most Invested Sector in FinTech
During this panel at the 7th European Blockchain Convention, Erwin Voloder (European Blockchain Association), Alexandre Kech (Citi Ventures), Juan Jiménez (Alastria) and Sarah Palurovic (Digital Euro Association) discussed how crypto has become the most invested sector in fintech.
Keynote: Stablecoin Market Overview at DEC23
In this keynote, Sarah provides an overview of the stablecoin market. One of the most notable developments of the past year, Sarah mentions, is the decrease in the total supply of stablecoins. In the overview, it's visible that the majority of endogenous stable coins projects have failed in the past while exogenous, meaning they are backed by external assets, seem to be the way to go. Furthermore, Sarah gives an overview of the latest news regarding stablecoins, such as Crypto Assets donations and banks being a risk to crypto.
Podcast: Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll
In this new news episode of Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll, Jonas Groß, Michael Blaschke and Sarah Palurovic take a closer look at the current crypto crash. Over the past few weeks, at time of airing of the episode, crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ether in particular have suffered considerably in a very weak overall market. Bitcoin has fallen below the USD 20,000 mark at times - a drop of more than 65% from its all-time high. What are the reasons for the sharp price decline in the crypto market? What role do inflation and the European Central Bank play? Is there a threat of a further price drop? Are we on the way to a prolonged crypto winter? We shed light on all of this in the deep dive of this episode.