Unlocking Token Performance: The Crucial Role of Investor Relations

Welcome to our institutional newsletter, Crypto Long & Short. This week, we delve into the world of token performance and the critical factor that drives it: investor relations. Jordan Brewer, investment analyst at Runa Digital Assets, highlights the missing piece in token markets - institutional-grade investor relations. He notes that protocols now seek public market investors to provide more durable capital, and a key part of investor relations is a regular investor call where management walks through forward guidance. Meanwhile, Martin Burgherr, chief clients officer at Sygnum Bank, breaks down how crypto markets are maturing, becoming more efficient and lower-risk for institutions, as they separate custody from execution. We also explore how institutions are driving this shift, with firms like Wintermute and Nomura's digital asset arm Laser Digital already operating in this way. The infrastructure is catching up, with collateral held in regulated bank custody while maintaining full access to exchange liquidity. This is not just a marginal efficiency gain, but a fundamental change in the economics of running an institutional crypto trading operation.