Welcome to our institutional newsletter, Crypto Long & Short. This week, we delve into the missing piece in token markets: the role of investor relations in driving token performance. By Jordan Brewer, investment analyst at Runa Digital Assets, we examine how protocols like Maple Finance and EtherFi are leading the way in providing regular investor calls and forward guidance, resulting in rewarded token valuations. We also discuss how research shows that firms that consistently meet or beat their guidance enjoy a measurable stock price premium.
In another article, Martin Burgherr, chief clients officer at Sygnum Bank, breaks down how institutional capital is moving through crypto markets, with a significant shift towards separating custody from execution, signaling a broader evolution in digital asset market structure. This change is driven by the need to reduce capital inefficiency and counterparty risk, with firms like Wintermute and Nomura's Laser Digital already operating in this way. The infrastructure is being built by institutions, with BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized money market fund being accepted as off-exchange collateral. As crypto markets mature, they are beginning to follow a familiar pattern, with assets settling through custodians and trading on exchanges, making institutional participation possible at scale.