Web 2.0 marked an evolution from information to interactivity. Now web3, or the Internet of Value, is poised to revolutionize it. Instead of merely sharing information, users will exchange value—and do so more and more without intermediaries.

Despite the ongoing digitalization of financial services, the actual value transfer itself has up until recently run on legacy rails only. Today that’s all changing. The digital assets ecosystem—encompassing smart contracts on blockchains/distributed ledger technologies (DLT) to store and manage values—is democratizing transactions and courting converts. New types of well-funded competitors have emerged to address the ongoing demand for digital asset services like decentralized finance (DeFi). Financial service providers will soon be required to deal with new forms of value transfer via tokens, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

With this transition impacting the revenue pools of banking, payments, asset management, and other financial and nonfinancial services players, now is the time to embrace the movement. 

Digital assets enhance the transparency, efficiency, and accessibility of transactions, offering 24/7 access to anyone with a smartphone. As consumer demand grows, incumbents must adapt their strategy, products, customer service model, IT/operations, and even governance. If you’re new to this growing landscape, we can help you get a grasp on the technologies—from blockchain to tokens and beyond—identify possible disruptors to your business, and then guide you to a strategic response. We can also help insurgents integrate digital assets into their business model and assist crypto-native fintechs with integrating offerings with the traditional financial services world.

Early adopters have started to weave digital assets into their business, with offerings like digital asset custody and investment/trading services. Nonfinancial services players are also getting in on the ground floor by leveraging the power of non-fungible tokens (NFT), for example. Still, the rapid pace of change has created a gap between the early adopters and crypto-native players and many traditional financial services companies. Digital assets are here to stay. Our team of digital assets & blockchain consultants can help ensure you’re the disruptor, not the disrupted.