OliverWyman &ripple NAVIGATING CRVPTO Howfinancialintermediariescanintegratecryptoassets FOREWORD BrooksEntwistle,SVPGlobalCustomerSuccess,RippleNet BradSeniorDirectorLiquidityHub Thefinancialservicesindustryisakeyinflectionpoint.Asthecryptoindustrycontinues tomaturespawningnewcases,applications,andbusinessmodelsbanks,credit serviceprovidersfintechswillpresentednitytoestablishtheirpositionattheofcryptoandtraditionalfinance Inordertothemselvesstrategically,essentialforbanksandfinancialintermediariestounderstandhowcompaniesandconsumersinteractwithcryptoassets today,thecapabilities(bothtechnicalandorganizational)requiredtofacilitatethisinteraction,theroleserviceproviderscanplayinhelpingdevelopthesecapabilitiesandhowthespacemayevolveinthefuture.We'reexcitedtoequipfinancialinstitutions withknowledgealongthesedimensionsthecommissionedresearch Furthermore,weareexcitedtoreleaseRippleLiquidityHubthisyeartohelpbusinesses presents.andfinancialinstitutions themselves,LiquidityHuboffersatechnicalplatformthroughwhichcompaniesofany sizecanbuy,sell,orholdcryptointernallyoronbehalfoftheircustomersthroughone cryptoassets,includingBitcoinandEtnereum. We'relookingforwardtopartneringwithfinancialinstitutionsintheirexplorationofcrypto bankingservicesusingtheknowledgeandexperiencewe'veacquiredoverpastdecade largestfinancial KEYTERMINOLOGY Cryptoassetsareassetsbuiltonpermissionlessblockchains,meaningtheyhavenopermissioned"issuer.ThissuchBitcoin(BTC),Ethereum(ETH)andqovernancetokens,stablecoins,andnon-fungibletokens(NFTs) currencies, choicesincentralbanks Centralbankdigitalcurrencies(CBDCs)aredigitalassetsissuedbycentralbanksthat maytradeonablockchain,Theideaissuingdigitalassetswithcrypto-likefeaturesis beingtakenseriouslybycentralbanksaroundworld,includingtheFederalReserve, theEuropeanCentralBank,andPBOC.Differentcentralbanksareresearchingand experimentingwithdifferentmodels Stablecoinsareprivatelyissuedcryptocurrenciespeggedtoafiatcurrencyandtypically bydenominatedinthatfiatcurrency.Theyenabletoeasilytransferandstorefiat-denominatedvalueoverpermissionlessblockchainswithout arecapitalizations180billionthetopfivestablecoins.' Decentralizedfinance(DeFi)referstosmartcontractprotocolsthatprovidefinancial servicessuchasborrowing,lending,andmarketmaking. Centralizedfinance(CeFi)referstocryptonativefinancialintermediariesthatoffertrading andintermediatedemandinstitutionsandDeFiprotocolsforcryptoassetswitha intermediariesratherthanthirdmediatedbysmartcontractsasinDeFiprotocols I.TooSahlecoinTnkensbyMarietCanitelirCoinmarkcn.zoz NavigatingCrypto INTRODUCTION peer-to-peerversionofcashthatwouldeliminatetheneedforfinancialinstitutionsand othertrustedintermediaries,ManyoftheearlyadoptersofBitcoinandothercryptoassets thathavecomesincehaveviewedtheseinnovationsasameanstodisruptthetraditional bankingsystem. Overadecadelater,cryptoassetadoptionhassoaredbutthesenon-traditionalfinancial instrumentshavenotreplacedthetraditionalbankingsystem.Wefindandwillexplorein thispaperthatmostownersofcryptoassetswouldprefertointeractwiththeirdigitalassetsthroughthetrustedandconvenientrelationshipstheyhavewiththeirfinancialinstitutions Notably,ourresearchsuggeststhatthereareasmanyas65millionAmericanswhoalready ownorareinterestedincryptoassets,andwhowouldprefertointeractwithcryptoassetsvia theirbank.Globally,thisfigureismuchlarger,especiallyinmarketswherethedifficultiesof accessingcryptoassetsareabarrierformostcustomers. Banksandothertraditionalintermediarieshaveshowninterestinbuildingcapabilitiestoservethedemonstrateddemandforcryptoassetstodayandtopositionthemselvesfora futureinwhichdigitalassetscouldbecomemoreimportantbuildingblocksoffinancialmarket remainextremelylimitedinbothscopeandscale. cryptoservicesarebecomingmoreaccessible,particularlyforthelargestbanksandfinancialintermediariesthatareabletobuildcapabilitiesin-house.Butmanyinstitutions,particularly smallertomedium-sizedfinancialinstitutions,willneedtorelyonserviceproviderstorealize anyambitionsinthisspace.Fortunately,thereisagrowingsetofserviceprovidersthathave emergedonlyrecentlytomeetthisdemand. andotherintermediariesaccesscryptocapabilities.Commercially,thismitigatesthecomplexityandfixedcostsofdevelopingin-housecapabilities.Organizationally,integratedservice providersreducethemanagementburdenonbanks,allowingthemtofocusonsettingand moreregulatoryclarityandserviceproviderswilladapttoenableandfacilitatecompliance. Giventheirexistingrelationshipswithcustomerswhovaluetheirconvenienceandsecurity.banksandotherintermediarieshaveimportantadvantagesinofferingdigitalassets,Serving theexistingdemandforcryptoassetsanddevelopingtheircapabilitiesforthefuturecould positionbanksastheprimarybridgebetweenfiatandcryptoeconomies.Shouldcrypto-related economiesbecomearelevantpartofourfuture,bankswithaclearstrategyandtrusteddigital capabilitieswillbewell-positionedtocreatenewvaluefortheircustomers,whilepossiblyimprovingtheirinternaloperationsthroughtheunderlyingtechnologicaladvances. 0OliverWyman NavigatingCrypto THEEVOLUTIO