Are Cryptocurrencies "the New Derivatives"?
As the digital currency market starts to creep back following a major decline earlier this year, one long-time banker suggests that 2017's high-flying run may repeat itself. Oki Matsumoto, CEO of Japanese financial services company Monex Group Inc., spoke at the Japan Society in New York on Tuesday, indicating that despite a pushback from global regulators, cryptocurrencies could take off in the same manner that derivatives did 38 years ago when they were equally disliked by regulators. The finance executive started his career in derivatives at Solomon Brothers in 1987. The entrepreneur then spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for starting the investment bank's yen-denmonated fixed-income trading desk. (See also: Already More ICOs in 2018 Than All of 2017: $6.3B.)
“'Regulators really hated derivatives in 1980 but just soon after that they really embraced them," said Matsumoto. «What's happening in the crypto world today is very similar to derivatives in the 1980s, and sooner or later all of those regulatory frameworks will be fixed.»
The Japanese Wall Street veteran serves at the helm of Monex Group, which he founded in 1999 with Sony Corp. Earlier this week, Monex, whose main subsidiary engages in the online securities trading, completed its acquisition of rival exchange Coincheck, which made headlines earlier this year as the target of a $534 million hack.
Monex's CEO is upbeat on the deal's potential to add value to the company, noting that shares of Monex have doubled since it was announced last month. The decision for a regulated public company in Japan to buy a smaller digital currency trading company is symbolic in a country where digital currency platforms have faced major regulatory
Read more on investopedia.com
