Month: November 2019

Crypto Fund Management: Latest Trends, Regulations, and Institutional Insights

The cryptocurrency fund management industry is rapidly evolving, driven by new regulations, strong market performances, and a surge in institutional adoption.

Whether you are a crypto hedge fund manager, institutional investor, or retail participant exploring digital asset funds, understanding these changes is essential for making informed investment decisions.

1. Regulatory Updates Shaping Crypto Fund Management

The global regulatory landscape for digital asset funds is becoming more defined, with the U.S. leading the way.

GENIUS Act Signed

The GENIUS Act (Guaranteeing End-to-End Integrity for the US Stablecoin System) is the first U.S. federal framework for stablecoins, requiring:

  • 1:1 asset backing with U.S. dollars or low-risk assets.
  • Dual federal and state oversight.
  • Enhanced audit and compliance obligations.

CLARITY Act Introduced

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act provides:

  • A clear distinction between digital commodities and securities.
  • Defined regulatory roles for SEC and CFTC.
  • New licensing requirements for crypto exchanges and DeFi platforms.

Joint Risk-Management Guidance

U.S. financial regulators jointly issued new guidelines for banks offering crypto custody services, focusing on:

  • Risk assessments for operational security.
  • Custody asset segregation.
  • Incident reporting protocols.

2. Institutional and Market Developments

Record-Breaking Performance

Crypto hedge funds are outperforming traditional funds:

  • Fasanara Digital: +7% gains.
  • Edge Capital: +8.3% year-to-date.
  • Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of around $123,000.
  • Ether surged over 50%, boosting the total crypto market cap by hundreds of billions.

New Institutional Products

  • Solv Protocol launched BTC+, a yield-generating vault for idle institutional Bitcoin holdings, targeting the $1T+ institutional BTC market.

Rising Institutional Allocation

  • Reports show 47% of traditional hedge funds now have digital asset exposure, up from 29% just a few years ago.

3. Compliance and Operational Considerations

Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF)

  • OECD’s CARF will require all Crypto-Asset Service Providers to report customer transactions and tax details, starting with EU member states.

Tokenization on the Rise

  • Real estate, private equity, and even Islamic finance assets are being tokenized.
  • Platforms like J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys are leading large-scale adoption of tokenized investment products.

Summary Table — Crypto Fund Management Landscape

CategoryKey Highlights
RegulationGENIUS Act, CLARITY Act, U.S. custody risk-management guidance
Market TrendsHedge fund outperformance, BTC+ yield vault, Bitcoin ATH
ComplianceCARF rollout, rapid tokenization adoption

Key Takeaways

  • The regulatory framework for crypto funds is stronger than ever, reducing uncertainty for institutional investors.
  • Institutional adoption is accelerating, with hedge funds and banks creating structured products for Bitcoin and Ethereum.
  • Compliance requirements are expanding globally, especially with the introduction of CARF.
  • Tokenization will likely be one of the biggest disruptors in asset management over the next few years.

💡 Pro Tip: Fund managers should prepare now by integrating robust compliance systems, exploring yield-enhancing products, and diversifying exposure across tokenized and traditional digital assets.

References

Blockchain-based Event Management and Ticketing Platform

The event management and ticketing industry is a huge market, particularly the event management software market. Markets Insider reported that the Event Management Software Market is projected to grow from USD 5.7 billion in 2019 to USD 11.4 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 15% from 2019 to 2024.

However, despite the great potential of the event and ticketing industry, there are numerous problems and issues plaguing the current centralized event ticketing industry. The main issues include ticket counterfeiting, ticket scalpers, instant sell-outs and overpriced resale tickets on secondary markets (EventChain, 2017).

The good news is that the blockchain could fix the aforementioned issues.  A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that can be used to record transactions and other data across a decentralized peer-to-peer network made up of a cluster of computing devices.

Using blockchain technology, every ticket sales can be publicly verified, and thus the authenticity of the ticket can be guaranteed. It is also able to prevent fraudulent sales and counterfeiting. It sets rules (using smart contracts) preventing secondary ticket websites from hoarding tickets and charging inflated prices for premium events. If the rules are broken, the fraudulent accounts are frozen and the tickets are made invalid.

In a nutshell, a blockchain-based event and ticketing system has the following benefits:

  • Elimination of ticket duplication and counterfeit tickets
  • Elimination of scalpers
  • Elimination of ticket touts and purchasing bots
  • Fully transparent ticketing aftermarket
  • Automatic refund at the time of cancelation

Use Cases

BitTicket

The Edinburgh-based Citizen Ticket is an event ticketing platform backed by blockchain technology that uses the cryptocurrency Ethereum Classic. In May 2017, they deployed the blockchain-based ticketing system BitTicket and delivered the first live event using blockchain technology.

BitTicket is a ticket delivery service that event organisers, venues, and artists can use to secure their tickets with blockchain technology. BitTicket provides users with one wallet QR code that holds all their BitTickets securely, no matter which ticketing provider they bought them from. They simply present it along with proof of ID to gain entry. Due to the security of BitTicket identity, ticket transfer to friends and family can be done easily and with assurance. BitTickets are immutable, transferable, and verifiable.

BitTicket guarantees the following:

  • Your purchased ticket is genuine
  • Inherent protection against industrial-scale ticket touts and ticket purchasing bots
  • Transfer your tickets securely and with ease between friends & family
  • Provides one wallet for all your tickets – no more individual tickets

GUTS

GUTS uses blockchain technology to create a transparent ticketing ecosystem where inflated secondary market prices and ticket fraud are eliminated. Their motto is simple, transparent and secure.

GUTS brings numerous benefits for different stakeholders:

  • Artist and Managers
    • A fair chance for all the fans to attend the show
    • Expand the fan base with exact data
    • Direct communication with your fans. Send them a message right before the show starts.
  • The Venue, Festival and Theatre Operators
    • No ticket fraud: fewer complaints and a stronger image
    • You know exactly who is present at any time (and who isn’t)
    • Automatic refund procedure at the time of cancelation or resale
    • Identification via mobile phones means shorter queues
  • Ticket Providers
    • Complete control of the tickets in both the primary and secondary market
    • Easy to integrate with existing ticketing solutions

LAVA

LAVA is a blockchain-based ticketing system that guarantees fair and secure smart tickets for music lovers. The system prevents ticket touting and fraud ruining festivals for music lovers.

The LAVA ecosystem has the following features:

  • 100% Safe
    • Using latest blockchain technology to eliminate ticket fraud
  • Smart Tickets
    • Smart tickets to stop the exploitation of festival tickets using a unique digital footprint
  • Lava Wallet – Eliminate printing completely by generating the ticket digitally and sending the digital ticket to the Lava wallet directly
  • No booking fee

PouchNATION

PouchNATION is an event management software system that uses the blockchain technology to good effect. PouchNATION is the first platform to implement blockchain and new digital currency across all verticals in event management. Its components comprise guest registration, cashless payment, access control, activity tracking, social engagement and detailed analytics reporting.

This innovative platform could overcome issues that the ticket industry is currently facing with managing events, attendance tracking apps, eliminating duplicate tickets, and validating registration at the door.

They have executed over 100 events including cashless events in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

EventChain

EventChain is a global Smart Ticketing blockchain project that will allow events worldwide to sell SmartTickets through a peer-to-peer network, solving the issues of the centralized event ticketing industry.

It implements the EventChain token network for event management to ensure faster transactions, indisputable ticket vouchers, transparency from event hosts and fully flexible and programmable SmartTickets. With the use of the EVC token, smart contract code, and the Ethereum blockchain, EventChain’s transaction network brings increased accountability, transparency, and security to event ticketing.

To fix the excessive ticket fees, EventChain is distributing EVC tokens, a digital ERC20 token created for buying, selling, and programming SmartTickets on the Ethereum distributed network. EventChain claims that their transaction fees are much lower and the transaction confirmation speed is near seconds.

Event Management and Ticketing Platform-A Conceptual Model

After examining the above use cases, I propose a conceptual model that utilises a similar concept to develop a blockchain-based event management and ticketing platform. Below is a simple conceptual model of the Event Management and Ticketing Platform:

The platform allows an event organizer to create an event and broadcast it to the website as well as a mobile wallet. The event should comprise details such as event title, date, time, venue, and a ticketing ordering button. The participant can then order tickets by paying  Token X. Once the organizer receives Token X, the e-ticket shall be automatically delivered to the participant’s mobile wallet. To enter the event venue, the organizer just needs to scan the e-ticket of the participant.

To build the platform, we need to build a smart contract layer on top of blockchain network to automate the buying and selling of event tickets. We shall use Solidity to write the contracts. There shall be at least three smart contracts -the ERC20 token contract(to generate Token X),  the event contract, and the ERC721 ticket contract. The event contract will need to link to the ticket contract as it needs to use the data in the ticket contract. The keyword to access the data in another contract is import. For example, we can create an event contract event.sol that imports the ticket contract ticket.sol, using the syntax as follows:

Pragma Solidity ^0.5.0
import "./ticket.sol";

The event.sol file shall create an event contract that specifies event details such as total tickets, collected funds, start time, etc. The code could be as follows:

Contract Event { 
 struct EventDetails {  
 uint256 ticketAmount; 
 uint256 SoldticketAmount; 
 uint256 CollectedFunds; 
 uint256 StartTime; 
  }

The event contract shall also include a create event function, as follows:

function CreateEvent{
 uint256 _ticketAmount; 
 uint256 _Startime 
}

There are many more functions to be included in the smart contracts but I will not dwell further as this is not a technical paper.

References


Event Management and Ticketing Platform

The event management and ticketing industry is a huge market, particularly the event management software market. Markets Insider reported that the Event Management Software Market is projected to grow from USD 5.7 billion in 2019 to USD 11.4 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 15% from 2019 to 2024.

However, despite the great potential of the event and ticketing industry, there are numerous problems and issues plaguing the current centralized event ticketing industry. The main issues include ticket counterfeiting, ticket scalpers, instant sell-outs and overpriced resale tickets on secondary markets (EventChain, 2017).

The good news is that the blockchain could fix the aforementioned issues.  A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that can be used to record transactions and other data across a decentralized peer-to-peer network made up of a cluster of computing devices.

Using blockchain technology, every ticket sales can be publicly verified, and thus the authenticity of the ticket can be guaranteed. It is also able to prevent fraudulent sales and counterfeiting. It sets rules (using smart contracts) preventing secondary ticket websites from hoarding tickets and charging inflated prices for premium events. If the rules are broken, the fraudulent accounts are frozen and the tickets are made invalid.

In a nutshell, blockchain-based event and ticketing system has the following benefits:

  • Elimination of ticket duplication and counterfeit tickets
  • Elimination of scalpers
  • Elimination of ticket touts and purchasing bots
  • Fully transparent ticketing aftermarket
  • Automatic refund at the time of cancelation

Use Cases

BitTicket

The Edinburgh-based Citizen Ticket is an event ticketing platform backed by blockchain technology that uses the cryptocurrency Ethereum Classic. In May 2017, they deployed the blockchain-based ticketing system BitTicket and delivered the first live event using blockchain technology.

BitTicket is a ticket delivery service that event organisers, venues, and artists can use to secure their tickets with blockchain technology. BitTicket provides users with one wallet QR code that holds all their BitTickets securely, no matter which ticketing provider they bought them from. They simply present it along with proof of ID to gain entry. Due to the security of BitTicket identity, ticket transfer to friends and family can be done easily and with assurance. BitTickets are immutable, transferable, and verifiable.

BitTicket guarantees the following:

  • Your purchased ticket is genuine
  • Inherent protection against industrial-scale ticket touts and ticket purchasing bots
  • Transfer your tickets securely and with ease between friends & family
  • Provides one wallet for all your tickets – no more individual tickets

GUTS

GUTS uses blockchain technology to create a transparent ticketing ecosystem where inflated secondary market prices and ticket fraud are eliminated. Their motto is simple, transparent and secure.

GUTS brings numerous benefits for different stakeholders:

  • Artist and Managers
    • A fair chance for all the fans to attend the show
    • Expand the fan base with exact data
    • Direct communication with your fans. Send them a message right before the show starts.
  • The venue, Festival and Theatre Operators
    • No ticket fraud: fewer complaints and a stronger image
    • You know exactly who is present, anytime (and who isn’t)
    • Automatic refund procedure at the time of cancelation or resale
    • Identification via mobile phones means a shorter queue
  • Ticket Providers
    • Complete control on the tickets at both the primary and secondary market
    • Easy to integrate with existing ticketing solutions

LAVA

LAVA is a blockchain-based ticketing system that guarantees fair and secure smart tickets for music lovers. The system could prevent ticket touting and fraud ruining festivals for music lovers.

The LAVA ecosystem has the following features:

  • 100% Safe
    • Using latest blockchain technology to eliminate ticket fraud
  • Smart Tickets
    • Smart tickets to stop the exploitation of festival tickets using a unique digital footprint
  • Lava Wallet-Eliminate printing completely by generating the ticket digitally and sending the digital ticket to the Lava wallet directly.
  • No booking fee

PouchNATION

PouchNATION is an event management software system that uses the blockchain technology to good effect. PouchNATION is the first platform to implement blockchain and new digital currency across all verticals in event management. Its components comprise guest registration, cashless payment, access control, activity tracking, social engagement and detailed analytics reporting.

This innovative platform could overcome issues that the ticket industry is currently facing with managing events, attendance tracking apps, eliminating duplicate tickets, and validating registration at the door.

They have executed over 100 events including cashless events in Indonesia events in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

EventChain

EventChain is a global Smart Ticketing blockchain project that will allow events worldwide to sell SmartTickets through a peer-to-peer network, solving the issues of the centralized event ticketing industry.

It implements the EventChain token network for event management presents to ensure faster transactions, indisputable ticket vouchers, transparency from event hosts and fully flexible and programmable SmartTickets. With the use of the EVC token, smart contract code, and the Ethereum blockchain, EventChain’s transaction network brings increased accountability, transparency, and security to event ticketing.

To fix the excessive ticket fees, EventChain is distributing EVC tokens, a digital ERC20 token created for buying, selling, and programming SmartTickets on the Ethereum distributed network. EventChain claims that their transaction fees are much lower and the transaction confirmation speed is near seconds.

A Conceptualised Event Management and Ticketing Platform

After examining the above use cases, I propose that we can use a similar concept to develop blockchain-based event management and ticketing system for a decentralized platform. Below is a simple conceptual model of Event Management and Ticketing platform:

The platform allows an event organizer to create an event and broadcast it to the website as well as the Token X wallet. The event should comprise details such as event title, date, time, venue, and a ticketing ordering button. The participant can then order tickets by paying Token X. Once the organizer receives Token X, the e-ticket shall be automatically delivered to the participant’s mobile wallet. To enter the event venue, the organizer just needs to scan the e-ticket of the participant.

To build the platform, we need to build a smart contract layer on top of the platform to automate the buying and selling of event tickets. We shall use Solidity to write the contracts. There shall be at least two smart contracts – the event contract, and the ticket contract. The event contract will need to link to the ticket contract as it needs to use the data in the ticket contract. The keyword to access the data in another contract is import. For example, we can create an event contract event.sol that imports the ticket contract ticket.sol, using the syntax as follows:

Pragma Solidity ^0.5.0
import "./ticket.sol";

The event.sol file shall create an event contract that specifies event details such as total tickets, collected funds, start time, etc. The code could be as follows:

Contract Event { 
struct EventDetails { 
uint256 ticketAmount;
uint256 SoldticketAmount;
uint256 CollectedFunds;
uint256 StartTime;
 }

The event contract shall also include a create event function, as follows:

function CreateEvent{
uint256 _ticketAmount;
uint256 _Startime
}

There are many more functions to be included in the smart contracts but I will not dwell further as this is not a technical paper.

References