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The Market Online
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Market Online
Crypto's value proposition: Perspectives from Consensus 2025
If you've yet to dive into the world of cryptocurrency and its underlying blockchain technology, you've probably heard about it, and may find yourself wondering if it will all turn out to be a fad or prove to have long-term viability. While blockchains were only proposed in a paper by cryptographer David Chaum in 1982, with their industrial application only coming into full force with the creation of Bitcoin during the Global Financial Crisis, their utility is readily recognizable. It saves more time, money and effort to record transactions automatically, leveraging a decentralized network, compared to hiring an institution to sit in the middle of buyer and seller. This concept can be applied to literally any industry, streamlining operational costs, optimizing systems and ultimately improving the consumer experience and investors' prospects for a satisfactory return. The use-cases for cryptocurrencies, which are used to settle transactions on blockchain networks, are considerably less certain. Firstly, they are far from universally recognized as valid currencies and/or investment vehicles, with restrictions in terms of legality and/or banking in place in many countries across the world. Secondly, while many tokens have posted phenomenal returns over the past 5 to 10 years, a great number have tanked, combining into a volatile track record too short to hang much conviction on or escape the category of speculative asset. That said, many investors have room in their portfolios for asymmetric risk-reward opportunities, making cryptocurrencies and blockchain companies popular ways to aim for the upside of extreme volatility. These investments, like any other, rely on a thesis delineating their success, but stand alone in terms of the strong conviction required to hold on through the turmoil any nascent asset must endure to earn differentiated returns. I attended the first day of Consensus 2025, one of the top global cryptocurrency and blockchain conferences, with eyes on measuring this conviction from the floor, hopefully offering interested investors a sense of what entrepreneurs believe about the industry's ability to create long-term value. Ndax My fancy first took me to a presentation called Beyond the Game: the New Era of Sports Partnerships, Crypto and Culture, where Bilal Hammoud, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ndax, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada, spoke about the company's mission to educate and become more approachable to those who may find crypto overwhelming, as most recently highlighted by a partnership with the NHL. 'As one of the top trading platforms in Canada, we want people to learn about crypto by understanding and less so by speculation,' Hammoud stated. 'Given that the NHL shares our main pillars of trust, community, education and authenticity, the partnership was a no-brainer.' From left to right: Randy Osei, CEO of Athlete Technology Group; Brayden Jackson, a basketball player for St. Bonaventure University; Max Paulsen, Vice President of Global Business Development for the NHL; Bilal Hammoud, CEO of Ndax; Adrian Wojnarowski, General Manager of St. Bonaventure Basketball. 'Crypto has been through numerous cycles and it can be intimidating to this day,' Hammoud added. 'We figured that, if people were able to see our brand beside their favorite teams on the ice, it would create a sense of approachability and build a bridge for them to see that crypto is the future of finance.' Ndax is playing an active role in spearheading this future, having executed over C$18 billion in transactions since 2018 and earned an enviable Appstore rating of 4.8, in addition to recently launching Ndax Ice, an official NHL playoff prediction game where users can earn crypto and exclusive prizes, aiming to spread the word about its regulated platform where both retail and institutional investors can diversify into crypto. Kula I next found my way to a booth occupied by Kula, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on securing and tokenizing real-world assets, including water, timber, agriculture and commodities, granting ownership stakes to communities that stand to be affected by future development. Moving beyond mere portfolio diversification, the Kula platform gives communities a say in the spaces they live in, demonstrating that crypto and blockchain can be drivers of positive change where moral and financial values align. 'We go into typically opaque or corrupt companies and bring transparency, opening them up to investors around the world,' Micah Yeackley, Kula's Co-Founder and CEO, commented from the floor at Consensus 2025. 'When investors get to see the heart of these projects, then blockchain has created value in companies or countries that struggled to see investment before.' 'Real-world mining was the heart of Kula at the start, beginning with a limestone mine in Zambia, but we soon realized that our model can be copied and pasted into any industry,' Yeackley added. 'So, we're working with hydropower in Nepal, timber in Malaysia, agricultural farms in Zambia, as well as copper, cobalt and lithium miners, all of it wrapped in our DAO, looking to make an impact for communities surrounding these assets.' Proven in the market with 9 MOUs, 5 contracts, 15 partnerships and over US$17.5 million in seed funding and capital raises to date, Kula believes its potential to scale remains largely untapped. S&P Global After a fair bit of aimless strolling, one of the conference goer's chief joys, I landed at S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI), one of the top market data providers, whose expertise helps governments, businesses and individuals across the world make high-conviction decisions. Its diversified offerings include sustainability, investment analysis, credit ratings (world leader), benchmarks (world leader), as well as analytics and workflow solutions, all in service of ushering projects up to full potential. I approached Chuck Mounts, Chief Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Officer at S&P Global Ratings, in the hopes of gaining an established institution's perspective on cryptocurrency and blockchain's long-term prospects, and he did not fail to deliver. 'We think the transformation of markets has begun, with blockchain rails replacing traditional market structures and providing a host of opportunities for investment capabilities,' Mounts said. 'S&P Global is actively deploying our historical expertise to help investors and market participants navigate this new landscape, shining a light on its inherent risks and providing benchmarks to improve decision making, market liquidity and price discovery. I would say we're in the very early stage of this market transformation, with a lot of traditional firms onboarding digital asset capabilities over the past few years, a lot of momentum building up on the policy side of things, particularly in the United States, and increased client engagement combining to catalyze mass adoption of blockchain among traditional market players.' While cryptocurrency and blockchain assets have only been investable going on 20 years, they are enabling tangible change in the lives of everyday people, helping to bring efficiency to legacy systems and transparency where none existed before while creating significant value. Case in point, total cryptocurrency market capitalization has grown by over 884 times from C$5.3 billion in 2015 to C$4.67 trillion as of May 14, according to Coin Market Cap, warranting strong optimism about the future as use-cases extend into gaming, voting, real estate, authentication, healthcare, insurance, metaverse building and data storage, among dozens of other industries, with the list likely to continue growing as tokenization extends into non-traditional assets and more people experience the benefits of not having to rely on centralized institutions to save, spend, invest or borrow against their hard-earned funds. All this is to say that, it seems clear that digital assets are here to stay, but the end-state of their ongoing evolution remains anyone's guess. So make sure to risk-adjust your positions, hold close to due diligence and keep updated on the latest crypto market moves as you explore this exciting asset class and put money to work. Join the discussion: Find out what everybody's saying about Consensus 2025 on Stockhouse's Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain bullboards. The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here. This is sponsored content issued on behalf of Consensus, please see full disclaimer here.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Who Is Ndax, and Why has NHL partnered with 'Crypto Giant' during Stanley Cup?
NHL teams up with Ndax for a crypto-powered playoffs (Image via: Getty Images) When the NHL announced its first-ever crypto partnership , naming Ndax the Official Crypto Trading Platform Partner during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs , it left fans and critics alike wondering who exactly is Ndax, and why now? The partnership, while groundbreaking, has sparked a whirlwind of debate in the hockey community and beyond. Ndax, one of Canada's largest crypto trading platforms, is stepping into the national spotlight at a time when crypto still polarizes public opinion. And the NHL, a legacy sports league rooted in tradition, is taking a bold leap into the volatile world of digital finance . Crypto and Hockey: An unlikely pairing? by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Jaw-Dropping Shots That Capture the Unimaginable Creative Terrace Designs Undo Let's be clear that this isn't just a logo-on-the-ice kind of deal. The Ndax brand will be front and center during all Canadian broadcasts of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, embedded in camera-visible in-ice placements and the NHL's digitally enhanced dasherboards. Beyond the optics, Ndax is launching "Ndax ICE," a campaign offering fans a shot at crypto credits and tickets to the Stanley Cup Final. In short, the NHL is going all-in on this partnership. But should they be? The trust factor: Is Ndax ready for prime time? Unlike household names like Coinbase or Kraken, Ndax is relatively unknown to the average sports fan. Founded in Calgary, Ndax (short for National Digital Asset Exchange ) has quietly grown into a regulatory-compliant, high-volume exchange with $17.5 billion in lifetime trading and $1 billion in assets under custody. Yet, critics argue that visibility doesn't equal credibility, especially when dealing with an industry still recovering from high-profile collapses like FTX. For the NHL, a league that prides itself on its heritage and integrity, this move feels both ambitious and risky. Crypto, while promising innovation and financial freedom, remains a contentious space filled with regulatory gray areas, price volatility, and consumer skepticism. Is this a forward-thinking leap into the future or a gamble during the most prestigious event in hockey? Chasing the Gen Z audience or chasing the hype? From the league's perspective, the move may be a calculated play to connect with younger, digitally-savvy fans. Crypto aligns with the fast-paced, tech-centric world that Gen Z and Millennials inhabit. But critics warn that this strategy might alienate traditional fans who view crypto as speculative, unstable, or even predatory. The NHL's partnership with Ndax could be a game-changing alliance or a cautionary tale in the making. It's a bold, polarizing move that positions hockey at the crossroads of tradition and tech disruption. Whether fans embrace it or push back, one thing is certain: the league's playoff spotlight just got a lot more controversial. Also Read: Chris Drury's new contract- Did Rangers play it smart or stuck in gamble they might regret? As the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway, will the NHL make a visionary move by aligning itself with the fast-growing world of crypto, or is it stepping into risky territory at the worst possible time? With Ndax now etched into the ice and beamed onto screens across Canada, fans are left to wonder whether this partnership is a bold step toward the future or the kind of gamble that could leave the league out in the cold.
