Now, we reached out (again) to Steve Ehrlich about Voyager Digital and current trends in the cryptocurrency space.
As always, he was enthusiastic about talking to us.
Steve Ehrlich CEO of Voyager Digital
Based on recent results, (18000% year-over-year revenue growth in April), Voyager Digital seems poised to become the leading cryptocurrency trading platform in the United States and beyond.
So, Steve of course was enthusiastic about the journey so far in 2021 when he said:
“2021 has been our year to shine. We’ve seen exponential growth. We started the year with 40,000 funded accounts on January 1st and if you add up what we have given to the markets, we [have over 400,000 funded accounts.
You [can] see the tremendous growth we’ve had in 2021. And those accounts have correlated to a high increase in revenue. So, we’re having a very good 2021, and we expect to see that for the rest of the year”.
Cryptocurrency Highlights
The year so far in the cryptocurrency space has been topsy-turvy. However, the cryptocurrency space can “count its blessings” in a manner of speaking. Mr. Ehrlich alluded to this when he said:
“We’ve actually seen gains. Not only have we seen Bitcoin and Ethereum go over $31000 being bullish, [but] we’ve also seen those two mainstays in the crypto market as being bullish.
We’ve seen a lot of activity and bullish sentiment across a lot of the altcoins; which is where a lot of our customers hold out at, and trade quite a bit. We’ve seen bullish sentiment across many of the altcoins.
We’ve started seeing some of these projects coming to fruition. So, it’s extremely exciting to see that part of the market in addition to the main two: Bitcoin and Ethereum”.
The Explosion of the DeFi Space
2021 has primarily been a great year for the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. So many projects have cropped up within this space and this exponential growth is set to continue.
One thing that the DeFi space has done is to bring about decentralization in the space in ways many people thought weren’t possible. Steve alluded to this and his excitement about the growth of the DeFi space. He said.
” I think you know the core of crypto is the ability to put the power back to the people and decentralize across every industry. Whether it’s finance or mortgages or anything you can think of. I think [when] you decentralize, it’s great.
We’re starting to see more and more adoption. I know some of the decentralized exchanges have tremendous values.
I think we’re still in the early stages in the US when it comes to decentralization because many of the people; the consumers don’t know how to use it. [They] don’t know how to get involved with it”.
While decentralized technologies up until this point haven’t been user-friendly, companies like Voyager Digital are doing everything possible to ensure that simplification exists for users. Steve continued.
“That’s where guys like us at Voyager [come in]. As we expand and start looking at how we play in the decentralized space, [we] will help people navigate decentralization in the future. We’re excited by that as well.
We think there’s a lot of opportunity for consumers and for people [and] businesses like ours”.
The Explosion of the NFT Space
The recent rise in new NFT marketplaces and the resulting explosion have raised eyebrows for a few people but been interesting for Steve. He said.
“[It’s] another really good [and] interesting space right? I think NFTs and their ability to allow collectibles [are great]. We all know collectibles have been around for centuries. People love collecting art, or sports memorabilia.
And I think [using] NFTs are becoming a popular way to collect those things. I think that there’s a lot of opportunity there as well. I think that we will continue growing in the NFT space”.
Steve also expressed interest from a business point-of-view in the NFT space. He said.
“It’s another area that at Voyager, we’re looking at [in] itself. We’re looking at; how we can help consumers navigate the NFT space in addition to the cryptocurrency space.
But it’s really exciting. It’s very exciting to see some of the things, some of the projects that are coming out in that space as well”.
About Cryptocurrency Bans
This year, we have seen many cryptocurrency bans come into place. From the People’s Republic of China to Nigeria, and even India. The common denominator connecting these bans is the fact that these bans occur mostly in developing countries.
Steve Ehrlich was direct in his point-of-view concerning these bans. He said.
“My thought on that is pretty simple. I think that the Countries should not look at banning crypto, but how to improve the financial systems and the governmental [systems] within their Countries rather than taking the extreme measure of trying to ban cryptocurrencies.
The easy route is always to ban something. The harder route is always to [take a] look internally and try to fix your problem and try to make sure that you’re addressing the root cause of the problem.
I think that people in power in those countries need to internally look at what the people want.
Because they’re in place to do right by their constituents, their people. So that’s the way I look at it. I just think that crypto is a way for individuals to express themselves and their opinion.
And to take that away from them is not something I would think is a politically correct move”.
About Booming Ethereum Prices
Now, this year Ethereum prices sprung a surprise comeback from being the second fiddle to Bitcoin. There has been a noticeable divergence between Bitcoin and Ethereum as the number of projects on Ethereum has increased exponentially. Steve said.
“We’re excited by that as well. Bitcoin’s been the dominant cryptocurrency for so long. I think that Bitcoin dominance has gone below fifty percent. Everyone calls it (Ethereum) the “Silver” to Bitcoin’s “Gold”.
I think that a lot of use-cases are being done on Ethereum. Hey, NFTs are being done on Ethereum protocol. So I think that you know, one might be a better store of value, the other might have better use long-term.
The exciting part about Ethereum increasing in price is not just about it increasing in price, but what can be built on it.
And you start seeing why blockchain matters and why people need to stand up and take notice that blockchain is here to change our lives for the better. Ethereum is a major player in that”.
New Cryptocurrency Ecosystems are Great but Access is Better
There are also new cryptocurrency ecosystems that are taking root within the cryptocurrency space. These systems include the Polkadot, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, and other projects. Mr. Ehrlich didn’t want to give precedence to a specific ecosystem. Rather, he said.
“We tend not to choose what we think is going to be the best or so forth. We just want to give people access.
But that said, we think that more protocols, more opportunities to make our lives more efficient and to dis-intermediate some of the middlemen.
I think it’s quite intriguing for us. There are a lot of protocols like Polkadot [for example] that is similar to Ethereum in a way.
Again, I think it’s all about developing the ecosystem of cryptocurrencies and why it matters for people and consumers in the long run.
And there will be some that will really [take off] and some that won’t ever make it and be used, but we’re excited by seeing the growth of all that”.
When speaking of his plans to add these ecosystems to Voyager Digital, Ehrlich was optimistic about the future of the cryptocurrency space with the emergence of these ecosystems. He said.
“We will continue to add all these protocols to our platform. We will give consumers the ability to invest in those.
We’re also doing a lot of work on building the protocols, so people can actually use these systems.
We will continue giving people access and the ability to use [them]. That’s our goal. That’s our game plan”.
The Roadmap for 2021
On Voyager Digital’s roadmap for 2021, Steve was specific. He said:
“We want to get our systems scaled [up] to ten million users. We’re well over a million users today. And to keep scaling up the platform.
That said, we’re working towards adding flash trading, debit cards, credit cards, international expansion. All within 2021.
We’re hopeful, but it could be that some of that falls in 2022. But we do believe that there’s a lot of opportunity for us to keep bringing more products to consumers”.
Growth will Come
Speaking about Voyager Digital’s recent stellar performance, Steve was hopeful about the future and about Voyager Digital’s growth prospects. He said.
“We’re successful in what we do. We’ve built a business that brings products to consumers. [Products] that they want which allowed us to grow significantly.
Also, I believe, there are more and more interesting cryptocurrencies that have grown, and we’re taking part in that. Do we expect our business to continue to grow on a quarter-to-quarter basis?
Will it continue at that level? We hope so. But, we’re going to continue to just grow our business on a month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter basis. That’s our goal”.
Looking Ahead
For us, it was interesting to hear the frank thoughts and see the humility of a person who we believe will become one of the most powerful titans of cryptocurrency’s coming golden age.
We are looking forward to talking again with you, Steve!
