00:00 Julie
Well, despite a decline today, cryptocurrencies and the actions related to the crypto had a bull race, winning records and receiving increased institutional adoption in the past year. And according to a new study by DEFI Education Foundation, an increasing part of Americans is interested in exploring the crypto, with 22% saying that they would like to know more about the blockchain and the crypto more broadly. Here with more things on the crypto landscape is Kristen Smith, president of the Solana Institute. Kristen, delighted to see you.
00:37 Kristen Smith
Hello, Julie. Delighted to see you too.
00:41 Julie
So what kind of views change the views in this survey work that really stood out for you?
00:52 Kristen Smith
Yes, well, I think the big point to remember for me from this study is that the Americans are more and more frustrated and concerned about the financial services industry. We have less than half of Americans, 49% who believe that the financial system meets their needs. It’s pretty low in my mind. But uh shocking, less than one in 10 Americans completely trust the bank. They are therefore fairly low figures for banks and I think that one of the things that the crypto and the particular challenge have to offer is an alternative or even potentially an improvement in the current system because they are able to hold their own assets, then they can exchange, borrow and lend by using these assets. And so, I was really excited to see the opportunity we have for cryptographic industry, be replacing completely or perhaps EUH converges with traditional finance to make it a more reliable system for everyone.
02:00 Julie
Well, I am curious about Kristen, when people say they are not satisfied with their banks, what are they not satisfied with, right? And does the crypto resolve for these things they are not satisfied with?
02:14 Kristen Smith
Yes, well, many of what we see are costs that are misunderstood, maybe they are disclosed, but there are so many disclosure that they do not know what they penetrate. And if you look at Defi, the cost is much lower. UM and then they also feel frustrated by access to certain products. And so, you know, with DEFI, it’s different and again, it is not a world that is for everyone, but I think what is really exciting is that, whether through stable parts for payments or market, the upgrading of the infrastructure that we use for business markets. There is a real opportunity here and UM what we do with the Sona Policy Institute, is that we focus on a large part of the current political work in Washington and that Congress adopts laws and implemented new regulations, it really provides a basis for this technology to be integrated into these systems so that we can reduce costs and provide consumers more access to better services.
03:07 Julie
Well, and I suppose that on this point too, I mean, certainly some of the major financial institutions are considering DEFI and also look at the blockchain and integrate it in some cases in their business. So what do you think that the landscape in the future will look like in terms of services offered and that offers them?
03:31 Kristen Smith
Yes, well, I think we will see a lot of innovation in all areas. I think that a really interesting idea and and it is something in fact the president of the dry, President Atkins focused on this type of concept of a great application where you can have your crypto wallet, your values portfolio and therefore if you need a short -term loan and that you do not want, you know, you have Apple actions, you can take advantage of this Apple stock to get this. underlying. And so there are a lot of things you can do with the guarantees in DEFI on different types of assets that are the UN, you know, is not available for consumers today. And so we think, you know, these are the types of innovations that we will see. But, you know, I think the key is as if it was a very American principle to want to have your own property. And, you know, when you are dealing with banks today, you really put your assets, uh, then it enters the fractional reserve banking system. This provides an alternative for this percentage of the population who wants to have more control and be able to interact directly with counterparts, whether through payments or negotiations or or loan.
