To call the crypto industry a roller coaster would be an understatement. From incredible highs to incredible lows, it takes a strong stomach and thick skin to stay in the game.
For Omer Amsel, Web3 Product Manager at Fireblocks, these roller coasters are what keep the space moving.
“You have your bull markets, then your bear markets, then your bull markets,” Amsel said. Decrypt at ETH Denver. “And every time, in every phase, there is this main driver for what would be. Last time it was DeFi and NFT, before it was ICO, you see all these innovations.
Amsel highlighted the crash of 2018 and the resulting bear market that led to Summer DeFi and the NFT boom as the latest example of a bear market building.
“Crypto has this way of pushing boundaries, and then something happens,” he said. “So he goes back to the drawing board and thinks about the next thing. I think that’s the beauty of this industry.
Amsel said the rapid iteration of innovation, even during bear markets, has enabled the sector to quickly close the gap with traditional finance.
Selling the “picks and shovels” of innovation
Launched in 2018, Fireblocks provides back-end crypto services for banks and investors.
“Our goal is to provide businesses with the picks and shovels to innovate, scale, and do so safely,” Amsel said. “If we stay in that mindset, the use cases will come and we can facilitate them.
“If there is a bear market now, there will be a bull market later,” he continued. “We believe in the long-term view of crypto.”
Last January, Fireblocks raised $550 million in a Series E funding round, bringing its valuation to $8 billion. In October, BNY Mellon spear Bitcoin And Ethereum child care using software developed in conjunction with Fireblocks. That same month, Fireblocks announced the launch of a new company, the Payment enginewith the payment service Worldpay collaborating in the development.
Regardless of the current regulatory environment in the United States, Amsel says Fireblocks is focused on technology.
“We are not a skilled goalkeeper,” Amsel said. “We just provide the technology to allow companies to do what they want to do, maybe in the financial space or in the non-financial space.”
But even though Fireblocks struggles in technology, he said the company also wants to help educate US officials about blockchain technology and give policymakers an international perspective.
“We are an international company,” Amsel said. “We are present in Europe, the Americas and APAC (Asia-Pacific), so we have come to an international vision. We always help to push the boundaries, obviously respecting regulatory frameworks, wherever they are.