(Vienna, 07 June 2022) As part of the FinTech Week, Binder Grösswang invited to a panel discussion with top-class experts from the fields of cryptocurrency, economic research and politics on 2 June 2022.

In line with the focus on the future in relation with the law firm’s 60th anniversary, the following panellists spoke about the direction in which the “crypto universe” will move: Peter Augustin, entrepreneur and founder of the crypto fund “Tigris Web3”, Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad, Chief Product Officer of Bitpanda, Monika KöpplTuryna, Director of EcoAustria – Institute for Economic Research, Christoph Pesau from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Florian Wimmer, CEO of Blockpit. ORF presenter Nadja Bernhard led through the discussion.

After the welcome by the Binder Grösswang partners Andreas Hable and Christian Zwick, the current topic in the crypto industry, the crash of Terra Luna, was discussed. Direct effects can already be seen in the regulatory realm. It is not to be forgotten that this crash affected the entire market. “The market is still too young and too small to withstand individual attacks by market participants. With more regulation, framework and a more mature set-up in technology, that will change quickly,” states Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad.

When asked how well Austria is prepared for the EU regulation “MiCA”, which will come into force later this year, Christoph Pesau replies optimistically: “The issue is a global one, one country alone cannot implement the regulation independently. A lot of things will only become clear over time, but uniform crypto regulation is indispensable.”

Moreover, it was discussed whether cryptocurrencies have the potential to be
recognized as legal tender also in Austria. “People who usually invest in rather
traditional products also trade in cryptocurrencies, and we need this democratization in Austria, especially given the current inflation rates with the prevailing real losses,” says Monika Köppl-Turyna. But even among economists there is disagreement as to whether Bitcoin has all the properties to replace the traditional currency.

When asked when people will pay in cryptocurrencies in their everyday lives, Peter Augustin says: “What is missing is the population’s level of education. The technology is there, but usability is still a plague at the moment.” Florian Wimmer adds that in most cases the willingness to take risks and to take control oneself is not yet there. “Not your key is not your coin. The players need more trust in the security of the platforms. You don’t need technological training for this.”

Finally, the discussion focused on future trends. For Peter Augustin, “digital
ownership” is a big topic, i.e. the possibility of independently disposing of your own data. Florian Wimmer holds that the trend is towards the tokenization of the capital market. Christoph Pesau believes that it will not work without regulation. However, the focus is not on over-regulation, but rather on being able to replicate a financial product based on this technology. For Monika Köppl-Turyna, the major issues in the future are technology and decentralization. Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad thinks that in the future we will be increasingly confronted with the questions of how the technology can be successively simplified, how this technology will prevail and how it can be made more accessible to everyone.

The event series Binder Grösswang impulse dedicated to current topics and outstanding personalities and takes place in an exclusive setting in the Vienna office.

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