ENTERING THE CRYPTO ASSET CLASS
Singapore-based technology platform, ZPX is helping Asian investors make informed decisions about the topical yet risky crypto asset class.
Based on a paradigm shift of decentralization, cryptocurrencies are in the process of disrupting modern industry, commerce and banking in a manner similar to the advent of the internet. Forming perhaps the most exciting asset class in modern times, they have surged more than seven times in the past year, with the price of the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, gaining more than 600%. But while these ballooning valuations have certainly caught the interest of some mainstream investors, many are still under the impression that they may have missed the boat with Bitcoin. However, pioneers in the crypto asset space argue that its potential is still well within the nascent phase.
One such pioneer is Singapore-based firm, Zenprivex or ZPX, which believes cryptocurrencies have the potential to significantly outperform other traditional asset classes. Aiming to decentralize markets using blockchain technology, the company is paving the way for inquisitive investors to explore the crypto asset class through a series of products built with the firm’s deep domain and technical expertise.
A Challenging Market
The rise of cryptocurrency valuations in 2017 was synchronous with the proliferation of crypto hedge funds according to financial research firm Autonomous Next, who reported 84 new fund launches as compared to only 16 the year before. However, in comparison to the total market value of US$300 billion for cryptocurrencies, only a meagre US$2.3 billion is managed by crypto-funds. This has led to projections of meaningful growth in both the number of funds and assets under management (AUM) as a massive inflow of institutional assets from a range of investors (including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and hedge funds) are expected to join the bandwagon over the next couple of years.
But despite having a positive outlook, the highly volatile and sophisticated nature of the crypto asset class can still be forbidding to retail investors. There are several other discouraging factors, such as crypto exchanges that have become a dime a dozen, with each having a dizzying range of Know Your Customer norms and fees. The market itself is also constantly evolving, thus requiring investors to constantly keep abreast of new developments and frequently rebalance their portfolio accordingly.
Dedicated Solutions
Led by a passionate global team of investors, bankers, consultants and technologists, ZPX has been working to secure these risk factors since its inception. Initially, the company’s model focused on facilitating liquidity in large blocks of shares of late stage companies such as Alibaba, Uber and Airbnb. However, the founders who had been avid followers of Bitcoin and blockchain soon realized that the process of closing these transactions were very relationship-driven and hard to scale. Since then, the company has diversified into three distinct verticals to maximize efficiency and transparency in fast-growing private markets.
The first consists of the ZPX token generator, which is used to create in-house tokens and offers curated tokens as a service. The second, 108 Holdings, is an asset management advisory business that focuses on protocol-layered blockchain projects. Finally, both its investment advisory and tokenization service businesses are underpinned by strong crypto-based internal research and analytics capabilities led by its third arm, Satoshi & Co. Using these distinct areas of expertise, ZPX provides proprietary, algorithmic models to drive its investment filtering, identification and allocation process, one that is bolstered by unparalleled early access to the some of the most coveted global ICO’s and crypto developer teams.
The company also leverages on an illustrious and experience-rich advisory team that includes names like the former Infosys Head of Merger & Acquisitions and Managing Director of Aarin Capital, Deepak Natraj; Jungle Ventures’ David Gowdey, and former Edelweiss Securities Chief Experience Officer, Rajeev Mehrotra. Its investors include marquee names from Silicon Valley such as Gokul Rajaram, who is often called the ‘Godfather’ of Google’s Adsense, and Anand Rajaraman of Milliways Ventures.
ZPX founders and blockchain evangelists (L-R) Aditya Mishra, Gautam Seshadri and Ramani Ramachandran are bringing the lucrative crypto asset class to Asian investors.
One Token Access
Taking its expert offerings even further, ZPX is now providing investors with broad as well as hedged exposure to the crypto asset class with the launch of its 108 Token. Built on top of the Ethereum blockchain (ERC-20), the crypto token will track and re-adjust every month to include the top 15 crypto token assets based on ZPX’s own proprietary, indexing methodology. This ensures that only the best performing coins (adjusted for future supply), will be available to investors, while eliminating dubious coins and potential Ponzi schemes. Finally, access to these cryptocurrencies will be simplified, as investors will only need one token – the 108 token, to gain this low risk access to lucrative opportunities. This methodology has been successfully back tested to outperform Bitcoin in excess of 50% over a meaningful time period.
Apart from the 108 token, ZPX also has several other technology-powered initiatives in the pipeline that will seek to tokenize a number of traditional assets. They also aim to help build infrastructure that will enable the freely and permission-less transaction of tokens between consenting parties. With a growing number of initiatives in existence and in store, ZPX seeks to make cryptocurrencies and the blockchain an accessible asset class for investors and other market participants in Asia and beyond.
This article was first published in the MillionaireAsia Issue 47 - March 2018
