This joint report on digital assets and Web3 by Oliver Wyman, Elevandi, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore explores the insights, trends, and use cases at the intersection of financial services and Web3 discussed at the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2022. Under the Festival theme of ‘Building Resilient Business Models amid Volatility and Change’, the report shows how digital assets can facilitate the creation of new or more efficient products and services and what it takes for participants, and the ecosystem, to remain viable, responsible, and inclusive.

The digital assets ecosystem has experienced both the macroeconomic pressures felt in traditional markets, and a series of idiosyncratic crises that continue to impact participants. However, despite the wide-ranging and ongoing pressure, the downturn could mark an inflection point; a shift from speculative investment to a focus on infrastructure and utility, from retail-heavy consumption of crypto assets to more institutional adoption of the underlying technology, and from fragmented platforms to open, interoperable systems. The strain has reinforced calls for regulation, separated the value of the underlying technology from the speculative valuations, and is paving the way for institutional adoption. We are seeing traditional financial institutions exploring a range of digital asset propositions, from cross-border payments and programmable money providing cost, efficiency, and financial inclusion benefits, to the secure, atomic, and 24/7 exchange of tokenized financial and real economy assets.

Whilst there are multiple paradigms for the future of the digital assets and Web3 ecosystem, it’s clear that fintechs, institutions, and regulators must be involved and contributing to its evolution, or risk being left behind.

Elevandi is a world-class knowledge platform with fresh insights captured from initiatives that connect people, with programs such as SFF, Green Shoot Series, Point Zero Forum, Elevandi Insights Forum, and more.