Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick believes that central bank digital assets might legitimize risk in the cryptocurrency market
After the high-profile failures of stablecoin TerraUSD, centralized exchange FTX, and three crypto-friendly institutions in the last year, investors need confidence that their digital assets are safe from additional collapses.
Kendrick thinks that’s where more rules and central bank intervention come in. He spoke with Jenny Ortiz-Bolivar from Forkast on his hopes for more industry openness and the rapid global adoption of central bank digital currencies.
Mrs. Jenny Ortiz-Bolivar: You have forecasted a significant increase in Bitcoin’s value. But apart from that, which other cryptocurrencies are you keeping an eye on?
Geoff Kendrick: “Investors may now unstake coins after Ethereum’s proof-of-stake upgrade in September and the Shanghai upgrade. When layer 2 solutions are implemented, previously-existing issues with Ethereum’s performance become moot. So, I predict that Ethereum will maintain its market dominance.
Solana is my favorite alternative coin. Concerns over the FTX’s demise in November have been alleviated, and the index has subsequently increased. With the withdrawal of some of the coins staked in Ethereum, staking systems like Lido are poised for rather a strong trading. Given the current low-stakes market in Ethereum compared to its smart contract rivals, we may expect to see services like Lido continuing to perform well. Eventually, that will probably gain up speed.
Furthermore, different worries starting in November have made centralized exchanges a little less trustworthy than they were previously, which is good news for decentralized exchanges. I think this bodes well for the trading activity on decentralized markets, such as Uniswap. In sum, Bitcoin and Ethereum both have my support; Lido’s current staking price is attractive; and I anticipate Uniswap to maintain decent trading volumes.”
