I got into Cryptoland accidently. I had just resigned from my well-paid (often stressful) job in financial markets as a fixed interest broker for Institutional, Government and Corporate funds.
It was my 50th birthday. I had worked hard on the front-line of financial markets for 30-odd years and it took its toll. I wanted a break and resolved to take some time to consider my career and life direction.
Traders in financial institutions are often the last line of defence - if things don’t go as planned, they must hustle to bring the money in before the end of the day to balance the books. That can mean doing deals with your professional network or trading the market – anything to avoid going to the lender (Central Banks) as they charge a premium for borrow money, so this should be a last resort.
Enter: Crypto
Co-incidentally, I had two house guests that weekend that also worked in Equity markets. One of them, Dean, was enthusiastically talking about ICO’s and Bitcoin, and in all honesty, I’d only vaguely heard of crypto at that point. My other guest, Cindy, was more sceptical and believed it was ill-conceived and possibly a scam.
I was intrigued though. The idea of cryptocurrency was related to financial markets but with a twist - a decentralised payment system with the opportunity for everyone to participate. This was very much in line with my non-elitist principles… I was hooked from there on!
And after many debates that weekend, I couldn’t wait to do some research and find out for myself.
Ripple’s Technology to Challenge Traditional Banking
That’s when I came across Ripple (XRP) and its innovative technology, which overcame many of the problems of the ageing Swift payment system that was used by most financial institutions. As a dealer in fiat markets, I knew all about the stress caused by settlement delays using Swift and the underlying correspondent banking framework. (In case you didn’t know, settlement is when the money has arrived where it’s supposed to be and if it doesn’t arrive on time, deals must be repriced causing real revaluation price risks in markets and real losses.)
In contrast, RippleNet’s technology could instantly settle cash in just 3 seconds - it seemed like a dream come true.
Bringing Traditional Financial Experience to Crypto
As I researched the crypto market and its technology, I realised how little the early crypto adopters understood about professional financial markets and systems. Furthermore, I was astonished at the lack of fundamental analysis and business evaluation of ICO’s, which was second nature to equity analysts evaluating IPO’s.
Here was an opportunity for me to contribute and educate.
That’s when I started doing some YouTube videos to offer an alternative view to the FOMO/FUDD merchants out there. I initially started my Slack community as a research and discussion forum and invited selected ex-colleagues from different disciplines. Technical specialists in particular were encouraged to join.
We now have an extensive database of crypto history and are looking into how we can use this to enhance our crypto models.
Next Steps in the Crypto Journey
It’s been an interesting journey so far – I’m still navigating the pitfalls of social media with its abundance of brain-dead trolls and the negativity and false information they spawn.
My team and I are now moving towards being podcast-based and offering individual tuition for folks who really want to learn how to achieve their own financial freedom. Crypto is only a part of this.
It’s a learning journey – but I’m happy and so are my clients. I now have a new lease of life and a passion to educate folks in this new asset class.
Ps: – thanks Team Wirex – it's nice that you put me on your 2020 list of rising women in crypto – It really helped me reach my true client base – decent people who are prepared to take control of their own financial destiny.
Susie Crew
Susie is a very capable cross-product financial markets person with over 38 years’ experience in financial markets and cryptocurrency sectors. She has worked across a range of sectors, including both public and private, and has worked with major banks, fund managers and central authorities such as Citi, Investec and Commonwealth Bank. Most recently, she has begun to utilise her technical, management and analytical skills from the traditional financial market and apply it to the cryptocurrency space.
In November 2013, she founded Esoteric Trading Solutions, a business to teach clients about cryptocurrencies and trading all financial market products. With the well-known title of ‘Crypto Granny’, she uses h in-depth research to regularly produce videos educating users about trading techniques, initial coin offerings, and crypto market analysis, showing how digital assets are superior to other traditional asset classes in many ways. She is renowned for providing fundamental advice, setting her apart from many other content creators in the crypto world who may provide misinformation.