Elizabeth White, the CEO and founder of the White Company, a New York-based firm that focuses on providing the “opportunity for clients who hold wealth in cryptocurrencies to [anonymously] purchase luxury goods”, has revealed that her company transacted about $250 million in 2018 alone.
“Crypto Wealthy” Realized It Could All Go Away
In an interview featured on Forbes White, a New York Stern School of Business graduate, said she began taking interest in bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, in its “early days.” She explained the concept of having a decentralized digital currency appealed to her because it was like a “counterculture investment.” Her friends and colleagues working in “traditional finance” looked down upon the very few people who were involved with cryptocurrencies several years back, White recalls.
In December 2017, the value of all major cryptoasset surged to all-time highs as the price of bitcoin skyrocketed to nearly $20,000. It was during this time that White observed the “crypto wealthy,” many of whom are young millennials that were looking for a way to spend their valuable digital assets. Unlike the older and traditional wealthy investors, White learned the younger crypto millionaires “had a sense that [their wealth] could go away just as quickly as they got it.”
Working With Apis Capital Management To Acquire Liquidity
However, most of the people that owned large amounts of cryptocurrencies were unable to “easily exchange” their digital assets for cash. This, White explained, was because of “restrictions and limitations” on larger amounts imposed by various crypto exchanges. In order to solve this problem, White began working with Apis Capital Management, a company that helped provide liquidity to her firm. Her company then used the liquidity services to accept cryptocurrencies as payments “while paying vendors in fiat” money, White said.
When asked what she thinks is the “best thing about her company”, White replied by stating that the White Company allows “high-profile” people to maintain their financial privacy when purchasing luxury goods. In a response to whether the White Company has “diversified” its invested capital, White said that her firm’s “biggest element” is its “own fiat-backed stablecoin business.” As an experienced crypto industry professional, White pointed out that there have been other stablecoin projects in the market, including Basis, which did not succeed as the project’s founders did not “follow basic economic principles.”
“Revolutionary Services Will Be Built On Blockchain Technolgy”
Going on to elaborate on the other services her firm provides, White mentioned that company offers a wallet and exchange service (White wallet). The White Company has also developed its own crypto merchant processing service (White Pay). Commenting on where she thinks the crypto market is headed, given that digital asset prices still continue to drop, White remarked:
The speculative bubble in cryptocurrency is over, which is a good thing, as it allows the community to focus for more serious, long term projects … there will probably be only a handful of cryptocurrencies that will remain relevant in a few years, [including] many revolutionary services … built on blockchain technology. The market will focus on transactional stablecoins … that simplify global payments, as well as using blockchain technology to simplify administration of real-world investible assets (such as real estate, hedge funds etc).
