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In March of this year, President Biden signed an executive order to establish a national policy for digital assets. Over 100 countries, including the United States, are currently exploring or piloting central bank digital currencies. The number of crypto users worldwide could reach 1 billion by December.  

Needless to say, digital assets have seen explosive growth over the past few years, to the point that major financial institutions are beginning to take notice. A new survey conducted by the technology consulting company Capgemini further illustrates the category’s proliferation, finding in their 2022 “World Wealth Report” that 71 percent of high net worth individuals have invested in digital assets.  

Surveying nearly 3,000 individuals globally (54 percent of whom reported a wealth band ranging from $1 million to $30 million and 46 percent with $30 million or more), the firm asked about investment preferences for emerging asset classes such as digital assets, classifying them as cryptocurrencies, related exchange-traded functions (ETFs), non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse-related products.  

According to Gurps Rai, chief executive officer of the Web3 solutions provider Dropp TV Holdings, the strategic prioritization of digital assets is a strong indication of the category’s importance across a growing number of industries. His company has developed multiple proprietary patent-protected innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning object recognition, streaming, augmented reality, mixed reality,  virtual reality and digital assets. Its original platform droppTV utilizes these technologies to create experiential commerce including unique NFTs and social tokens, and also offers an operating system to organizations looking to explore Web3.  

As an early investor in cryptocurrency himself, entering the space over a decade ago while working in the global carbon market, Rai has been a primary player in the growth of the digital assets space. In his view, although cryptocurrency in recent months has made headlines for its volatility, high net worth individuals’ growing interest in the sector is a strong indicator of the robust nature of the market.  

Indeed, according to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Blockchain Survey, leaders at financial service institutions echo this overall sentiment. Almost 80 percent of those surveyed at a global level said that they believed digital assets will be somewhat or very important to their respective industries in the next two years, and 76 percent said that within the next five to 10 years digital assets will serve as a strong alternative to or replacement for fiat currencies.  

But what exactly does the category of digital assets entail? The definition has evolved in recent years, with Investopedia stating that it was originally used to reference any data or scanned documents that has or provides value. However, the late aughts saw the introduction of blockchain and cryptocurrency and today the term has come to mean anything that can be used to create value via tokenization on a blockchain.  

Blockchain, also referred to as digital ledger technology (DLT), is at its most simple definition a system for recording information. It is innovative because unlike any ledger system that has been kept in the past –– digital or analog –– it stores the information in such a way that makes it practically impossible to change, hack or cheat. This is what has powered the growth of cryptocurrencies, but usages for the technology are being found across an increasing number of industries such as automating contracts, tracing goods in supply chains, automating insurance claims, centralizing patient medical records, etc.  

While thousands of major companies have begun accepting cryptocurrencies as payments in addition to using it for a number of investment, operational and transactional purposes, Rai said that organizations wishing to move into the digital assets space must ensure they have a strong command of the technology. More than 16,000 cryptocurrencies exist, and in less than a year between the end of 2020 and late 2021 they roughly quadrupled in value.   

Although cryptocurrencies have seen a fall in value, going from their peak value of $2.1 trillion in November 2021 to $926 billion as of June 2022, insiders such as Rai have said they anticipated such a dip and given their volatility there is certainly potential for them to bounce back at any point. Additionally, blockchain technology has a compounded annual growth of 68.4 percent from 2022 to 2026, showing its growing potential for investors.  

Younger investors have shown a particular penchant for investing in digital assets, with the Capgemini survey finding that 91 percent of the high net worth individuals under 40 years old indicated they had investments in the space. From NFTs to the newly rebranded Meta’s, well, metaverse, digital assets are proving to be pushing forward outside of the tech industry, disrupting practically every other sector in the process.  

The elevated interest in digital assets by high net worth individuals is indicative of an overall pattern within the space. Whether an investor, consumer, or leader, taking note of the growing digital assets sector is imperative to making forward-thinking decisions. Rai says that blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other Web3 technologies have the ability to transform any and every aspect of a business if people are able to think outside the box.   

Fear of the unknown is natural, especially when financial risks are involved, but the incredible growth of the digital assets sector is one that should invoke excitement for modern society’s capabilities. As an increasing number of financial institutions build digital assets into their offerings, the future for the space seems bright. 

About Gurps Rai 

Gurps Rai is the co-founder and chief executive officer at Dropp TV Holdings, Inc. Originally conceived as a shoppable streaming platform, the company has developed a number of innovations within the artificial intelligence and machine learning space, in addition to streaming technology, augmented reality, virtual reality, and digital assets. The organization’s droppTV ecommerce platform has received recognition for its ability to create unique experiences for brands, creators and consumers, and its proprietary dropp360º operating system is being utilized across industries for those wishing to enter the Web3 space.   

Prior to founding his company Rai worked in the financial services sector, handling foreign exchange transactions for large businesses based in the commodities market. He was also an early investor in the cryptocurrency Ven while working in the global carbon market. Through his connections to both, Rai became the first person in the world to successfully facilitate a commodity trade using virtual currency, orchestrating an international offset deal between  the American Carbon Registry, the nonprofit organization WinRock and Nike.