I was asked to provide some comments related to the SKBI conference last week in Singapore.  Below are my full quotes that were lightly edited for two different publications.

Singapore Event Puts Bitcoin on Mainstream Finance Agenda from Coindesk:

“One of the discussions throughout the conference was related to bitcoin as a commodity, currency and potentially emerging asset class.  While this is ultimately an empirical issue, the market so far — based on blockchain behavior — suggests that it could be some form of commodity.  As to whether or not it can go the distance and become an entrenched asset class is another issue altogether largely due to the tendency for all proof-of-work based blockchains to ultimately “self–destruct” due to block rewards.   Perhaps this will change and bitcoin will somehow be the exception to Ray Dillinger’s rules but it may be the case that its monetary policy cannot incentivize the labor force to stick around long enough to make bitcoin a viable asset class.”

Singapore Crypto Conference Brings Together Academia, Businesses and Regulators from CoinTelegraph:

“The Singapore conference was unique in that it provided a well-balanced cross-section of academics, business professionals, decision makers at governmental organizations and entrepreneurs within the industry.  As a result, the sobering conversations that took place focused more around actual opportunities and challenges in the community today rather than the typical scifi cheerleading that is divorced from the reality that companies in this space face.”

Videos and other media should be up in the next week or so.

Bonus: some of my thoughts as to why transactional volume has increased despite a lack of corresponding increase in BDD and miner fee volume: Markets Weekly: Bitcoin Rises Amid Dark Markets Crackdown from Coindesk.