‘COVID-19 Was a Catalyst’: Henri Arslanian on a ‘Game-Changing’ Year for Crypto and 10 Predictions for 2021

This week on the Opinionated podcast, we’re joined by PwC’s Henri Arslanian, the consultancy’s very smart global crypto hand.

Arslanian wrote a 2021 look-ahead op-ed for CoinDesk giving "10 Predictions for 2021: China, Bitcoin, Taxes, Stablecoins and More."

He thinks next year will see a number of big trends in crypto come to fruition.

“2020 has been a terrible year for pretty much the entire world but when we look at it from a fintech and crypto perspective, it has been a game-changing year,” Arslanian tells me.

“COVID-19 really acted as a catalyst.”

Take bank notes. We’ve been using them less for years but the pandemic has really stopped us using them. At the same time, people are hoarding bank notes (because it’s a crisis), leading central banks to think more seriously about issuing their own digital currencies.

Next year, Arslanian expects to see the first retail digital currencies. All eyes will be on China’s advanced project.

Arslanian also discusses bitcoin, derivatives and taxes. He expects lots of M&A activity as crypto unicorns become “crypto octopuses.”

Listen in for one of the smartest consultants in the crypto space.