Cryptocurrency has garnered attention from the media for its risk level and turbulent market. But with a current valuation at $417 billion the industry appears strong, and its participants are growing by the day. As crypto attracts an increasing number of businesses and individuals, those at the helm are looking at new solutions for creating accessibility to this emerging market, while maintaining the underlying technology’s reputation for unique innovation.

“The ideological … roots of bitcoin and blockchain technology have been lost on on many of the new entrants,” said Jeremy Gardner (pictured, left), co-founder and managing partner at Ausum Ventures. “This is a massively growing industry that touches upon every kind of business.”

Gardner and Genevieve Roch-Decter (pictured, right), chief executive officer at Grit Capital Partners, are working together to move the cryptocurrency industry forward. They recently spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Blockchain Week event in New York City. They discussed the state of crypto and where they see the market going next.

Crypto accessibility for the average Joe

As the cryptocurrency industry evolves, business leaders are looking at ways to solve for some of its challenges — market volatility, technical limitations, a lack of regulation, and user accessibility. Roch-Decter and Gardner are currently serving on the advisory board for a financial services firm looking to develop a compliant coin offering to address some of these market needs.

“They’re creating … an offering that is available to more than just accredited investors … something that falls within the pre-existing regulatory framework and also accessible to your average Joe,” Gardner said.

In addition to its potential for innovation in existing industries, crypto also offers the opportunity to build entirely new markets — especially those that exist outside the mainstream.

“Crypto and cannabis are two of the hottest millennial sectors. … At Grit Capital we like to dance on the edge of chaos,” Roch-Decter said. Grit’s latest play at the “edge of chaos” involves a cannabis company that uses the excess heat of a crypto mining operation to power its grow-op.

With so much untapped potential on the horizon, the market is anybody’s game, according to Gardner. “The protocol that provides the strongest and and most adaptable and infrastructure and foundational technology is going to be … the main winner,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Blockchain Week NYC.

Photo: SiliconANGLE