Could Singapore be a cryptocurrency hub?

IF 2018 was volatile for markets generally, then for cryptocurrencies, it was an adrenalin-inducing roller-coaster ride of soaring asset prices, speculation and massive slumps.

Fortunes were made and, in many cases, lost. A new capital-raising phenomenon, the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), saw billions of notional value raised by blockchain ventures, many of which have failed to deliver on the promises made to investors. And in its tenth year, the first cryptocurrency, bitcoin, reached a valuation approaching US$20,000 before slumping to US$3,200. Legendary investor Warren Buffett even described bitcoin as "rat poison".

Plenty then to fuel the argument that cryptocurrencies are a fad. Except that, with due respect to the detractors, they are not. Much like the technology boom and bust of 2000, focusing only on the short-term price action clouds the long-term paradigm shift at hand.