Whether you are an evangelist or a sceptic, cryptocurrency has become the unavoidable topic in global finance. But it has not always been viewed as relevant by those operating outside the world of highly speculative investment or Silicon Valley utopianism.

However, while ‘crypto’ continues to attract more than its fair share of detractors, and both its fans and its opponents kick up a lot of very public heat and noise, a quiet transformation has been taking place. Cryptocurrencies – and the world of decentralised finance (DeFi) for which they are leading the charge – are starting to show their worth as spendable assets.