There are quite a few things that the cryptocurrency and cannabis industries have in common, and quite a few things that they have to offer one another. Both cryptocurrency and the legal cannabis market are relatively new phenomena in the US; both lack clear regulations, and both have a lot of (perhaps too much) money flowing into them.
Some believe that blockchain’s capabilities to build secure supply chains and financial ecosystems that could securely store the funds of cannabis businesses could solve some major problems in the cannabis industry. At the same time, successful widespread implementation of blockchain and cryptocurrency across the legal cannabis industry could legitimize the technology. Finance Magnates covered the relationship between the cannabis and cryptocurrency industries earlier this week.
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What are these ‘major problems’ in the cannabis industry? The sector is plagued with a serious lack of financial services. Cannabis is not legal under federal law in the US–it has only been legalized on a state-by-state basis. Because it is still technically an illegal substance, banks across the country are prohibited from offering any products or services to the cannabis industry.
99% sure this is the next industry to hit bubble territory. What we’ve seen so far with Canadian pot stocks has only been a warm up.
When US federal law changes and cannabis firms can cross state borders and IPO (or ICO), the market will become irrationally exuberant. https://t.co/OqhxllqwNS
— The Crypto Fam (@TheCryptoFam) August 8, 2018
Uncertain Regulatory Futures Could be Bright for Both Industries
Because both of these industries are still so new, the way that regulations are formed could have an especially large impact on their futures, together and separately. Canada recently legalized marijuana, and it’s widely believed that the US will make the same decision in the relatively near future.
In any case, these two sectors could have a lot to gain from each other. In the meantime, though, strategy is key–if these industries want to build a viable relationship with one another, the time is now.
