Michael, can you tell us a bit about your journey and how you became interested in the world of cryptocurrency?
I started buying Bitcoin shortly after Coinbase launched. I had heard of it earlier but dismissed it until the Cyprus bank bail-in occurred, and it became more clear that banks were not acting in our best interest. I took a little profit in late 2013 that funded a new product in another business I owned. I paid attention from a distance for the next few years and jumped back in mid-2017. I started working with Daren Hebold, the CEO of Luxolo, in late 2017 while he was just building the foundations of the company. While I helped out for a couple of months, ultimately, I needed to pursue a previous obligation.
This gave me a chance to deeply investigate money, banks, governments, history, technology, and the legal structure. These subjects all converge around cryptocurrencies, and with broader perspective and deeper understanding, I started to recognize the inevitability of widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in general. I fulfilled my obligation in early 2021 and then joined back with Luxolo to run their sales desk.
Can you give us an overview of Luxolo and its mission in the cryptocurrency space?
Luxolo provides concierge cryptocurrency exchange and portfolio management services to the crypto-curious crowd. These are investors that have interest but very little familiarity with the cryptocurrency ecosystem and have portfolios that include traditional assets like real estate, stocks, and bonds but have not yet allocated any capital into cryptocurrencies.
We offer in-person consultations or phone conversations with our sales and support staff to help our clients navigate the often confusing waters of blockchain markets. We designed a user interface that is simple to use and easy to access. We removed much of the technical language and abstracted the complex functions required to interact with various blockchain protocols behind a user-friendly mobile application.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities currently facing the cryptocurrency industry?
Many analysts would say that regulatory hurdles are the biggest obstacle. They are certainly confusing, and there are many issues that remain unclear, but I am convinced that governments want massive deployment of blockchain technology and the industrial growth that it promises. The legal structure will adapt to this desire, albeit in a messy and confrontational and inefficient manner, as is the tendency for governmental bodies! While regulations do affect all of us involved, and they are disproportionately onerous for the companies, like us, building and innovating in the space, a bigger challenge is usability.
This is constantly evolving but still, after ten years or more, there is much to be desired. If we look at the evolution and adoption of the internet as an analogy, we are somewhere between Bulletin Board Systems and AOL chat rooms. Fortunately, we do not need to reinvent great user experiences. Instead, we will see cryptocurrencies absorbed into them without the user even knowing that anything changed. Designing an intuitive and accessible user interface was our primary driver while developing our mobile app and web portal.
You’ve been known for empowering people through your presentations and guidance. Can you share some key strategies you use to help individuals stay informed and make smart decisions in the crypto market?
I meet my audience where they are. Cryptocurrency technology and markets are quite confusing, so I do the best that I can to communicate complicated information in an easily understandable manner. Sometimes this involves diagrams and charts, but more often it is stories and analogies that are relatable to that individual client. I also try to avoid short-term trends, short-term thinking, and day trading. Our position is that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and many of them will increase in value over the next decade.
I think that asserting short-term conviction into this or that project or trend is ultimately confusing. These are distractions that easily entice investors to miss the forest for the trees. I endeavor to engender trust. I try not to sell anyone anything, but instead share my enthusiasm and conviction. I try to relate to people’s lives, struggles, and concerns and then offer solutions and alternative strategies that I believe will benefit them.
Where do you see the future of cryptocurrencies heading in the next 5-10 years?
In some ways, cryptocurrencies are already in the future; in that they have utility that is not yet needed, they solve problems that do not yet exist. The future will emerge from blockchain technologies just as much as blockchains will be defined by the future. Our society is increasingly digital and interconnected. Information will increasingly become token-gated. Instead of passwords and siloed databases, all information will be readily available with the right cryptographic credentials, or tokens.
This will include asset registries, inventory controls for everything involved in a commercial enterprise, land deeds, voting rights, medical records, identity and citizenship status, education credentials, workplace credentials, experience, and history. This will all be managed and operated with the help of AI. AI is just getting started and will soon become personalized. Everyone with a smartphone will have a personal AI assistant, or several, or many. These AI agents will communicate with other AI agents and that will become monetized. AI agents will pay other AI agents and they will use cryptocurrencies for these transactions. Markets will be ‘always on’ for commodities, bonds, currencies, equities, or anything that trades. Manufacturing plants will operate all the time, many do already.
Banks will either need to adopt 24/7 operations or simply integrate cryptocurrency wallets that can fuel this continuous industrial output. The tokenized economy is inevitable, as long as we continue our current trajectory.
Of course, the future is impossible to accurately predict and unexpected events or circumstances could radically alter its course. In the next 5 years, I foresee a turbulent transition from ‘paper’ markets to tokenized markets. I see ubiquitous blockchain voting protocols. I see a restructuring of the global financial settlement systems that may involve dethroning the US dollar as the reserve currency for international commerce and the introduction of programmable cryptocurrencies that may or may not be bound to any one nation. I see the widespread adoption of tokenized credentialing platforms that include a variety of personally identifying information. I see a rapid proliferation of AI systems, especially in agriculture, energy, and manufacturing.
All of these trends indicate that there now exists an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create multi-generational wealth with a little research, some courage, some patience, and some guidance. Luxolo is here for you at this time for this reason. Hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe even trillions, will move into cryptocurrencies and blockchain protocols in the next several years. Position your assets accordingly.
What advice would you give to someone just starting to explore cryptocurrency investments?
Be careful who you listen to. There are innumerable scammers in this market. Begin investing in well-proven and widely accessible projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Do not expect immediate profits, expand your time preference out to 3-5 years. Like all markets, there are cycles or ebbs and flows of capital coming in and capital going out. Make sure that you understand the basics of keeping your investments safe. Luxolo offers a cold storage vault wallet, one of the best ways to protect your wealth.
Spend some time researching and learning but try not to get overwhelmed. Identify trusted sources of information, like Luxolo’s Learning Center, or Coin Market Cap, or news aggregators like Cointelegraph. Start with a small allocation and only risk what you are willing to lose entirely. Build confidence in yourself and your choices. Devise a rudimentary strategy for the next two years and try to adhere to it. Markets prey on emotional sentiments, guard yourself against your emotions.
What are Luxolo’s plans for the future, and how do you envision the company evolving in the next few years?
We will continue to enhance and develop our retail service line and refine our mobile app. This will include a native portal to access decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols so our clients may take advantage of yield-farming and token swapping on decentralized exchanges. We are additionally developing a bitcoin-collateralized loan product for Business Entities, where businesses can obtain short to mid-term loans at market rates for uses such as Lines of Credit, Equipment Purchases, and Asset Acquisitions.
We will also continue to produce educational materials and offer seminars and pre-recorded webinars to further inform our clients and the retail community at large. We are introducing a tiered rewards program with gamified incentives to encourage investments as well as social networking. We are also presently launching a Business Entity Portal so that companies may include bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets on their balance sheet as a prudent treasury management strategy.
We will offer logistical and business development support, legal and regulatory compliance guidelines, reporting capabilities that meet and exceed the current tax laws, and our signature concierge personal support. This new service will also allow individuals to purchase and manage their cryptocurrency portfolios through their business entities, taking advantage of certain tax breaks that are available. Our commitment to personal service will require that we expand our footprint outside of Maine and open satellite offices in strategic areas of the US.
As we expand our footprint, we will expand our offering to include retirement and estate planning, allowing our clients to use tax-deferred structures like 401K and Roth IRA’s. As soon as the regulations are clarified and the licensing is defined, we will offer portfolio management services. Luxolo has a sister company that specializes in real estate, and we see obvious synergy in these industries that we look forward to developing into products and services.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about Luxolo, your work, or the cryptocurrency industry in general?
This industry is rapidly evolving and constantly adapting to new technology, shifting political climates, and market forces. Luxolo will continue to look for opportunities to offer our clients a carefully curated selection of services that maximize their chances for financial freedom. I would like to caution investors that the past does not predict the future.
Trends that we may dismiss, like metaverse gaming, because they seem so divorced from our current way of living, may end up becoming the cultural norm. Technology is very disruptive, and we cannot even imagine the full scope of the digital convergence that we are building. What we can reasonably imagine is that society is changing with the increasing advances in digital technology and integration. Perhaps it is wise to invest a little wealth into this growing ecosystem; Luxolo can help with that.
Conclusion:
In our conversation with Michael Seymour, it’s clear that the cryptocurrency landscape is both challenging and full of opportunities. With Luxolo’s commitment to personalized service and education, investors can navigate the complexities of the crypto market with confidence. As the industry continues to evolve, Michael’s insights and Luxolo’s innovative approach will undoubtedly help many individuals and businesses harness the potential of blockchain technology.
For more information about Michael Seymour and Luxolo, visit their website at Luxolo and follow them on Instagram.
