Digital assets have grown into a trillion dollar market, but remain largely disconnected from traditional finance. While institutional investors increasingly want to own and monetize digital assets, most banks, broker-dealers, and asset managers operate in infrastructure designed for stocks and bonds rather than blockchain-based assets. Spot Crypto ETFs are an important step towards integration, but only allow for passive exposure to asset classes. To fully mature digital assets require mechanisms to bridge the entire infrastructure of existing capital markets in familiar, regulated ways.
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Please enter your American Deposit Receipt (ADR). For almost a century, receipts served as a bridge for international stocks, debts and goods, allowing US investors to own foreign assets with the same ease as domestic securities. The first ADR issued in 1927 has today established a stage in a system that will drive trillions of global investment. The ADR works to provide dissolution, economic and governance rights, and US regulatory oversight, while ensuring efficient settlements through Deposit Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). They will enhance local liquidity and access to markets, as seen in Chinese companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and US stock trading in Brazil.
Crypto-centric ADRs play a similar role in digital assets. Like foreign markets, Crypto operates outside the traditional US capital markets, making it difficult for most institutions to engage without specialized infrastructure. ADR provides a regulated, accessible, familiar framework.
Seamless Access – Cryptocurrency can be included in funds, kept in existing bank and securities accounts, and unlock traditional capital market utilities.
Efficient Two-way Conversion – By not limited to certified intermediaries, ADR offers asset owners the option to convert the underlying crypto and ADR in physical form.
Cost-effective-ADR conversion is a simple, same-day process that does not require NAV calculations. Selling the underlying cryptography will not result in fee deducting.
Institutional Workflow Compatibility – Payment via DTCC via unique identifiers such as CUSIP and ISIN ensures seamless alignment with existing workflows.
Although institutional demand for digital assets has skyrocketed, most traditional market participants are still tied to the DTCC rail and are not set up to interact directly with crypto. ADR will meet these companies today and address key regulations, compliance and operational hurdles.
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