BITCOIN: RINGING THE BELL FOR A NEW ASSET CLASS RESEARCH RESEARCH WHITE PAPER BY CHRIS BURNISKE, BLOCKCHAIN ANALYST AND PRODUCTS LEAD | ARK INVEST ADAM WHITE, VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & STRATEGY | COINBASE ARK Invest and Coinbase explore the merit of bitcoin as the first of its kind in a new asset class—cryptocurrency— distinct from all other asset classes. Universally, we think traditional asset classes must meet the requirement of investability. However, traditional asset classes then differ in their politico-economic features, correlation of price movements, and risk-reward profiles. In this paper, all four criteria are explored in the context of the major asset classes. ARK Invest 155 West 19th, 5th Floor New York, NY 10011 info@arkinvest.com www.ark-invest.com JOIN THE CONVERSATION @ARKblockchain @ARKinvest @coinbase @GDAX Coinbase, Inc. 548 Market Street #54008 San Francisco, CA 94104 press@coinbase.com www.coinbase.com JUNE 2, 2016 BITCOIN: RINGING THE BELL FOR A NEW ASSET CLASS ARK INVEST + COINBASE | CHRIS BURNISKE AND ADAM WHITE 2 CHRIS BURNISKE Chris serves as Blockchain Analyst and Products Lead at ARK Invest, working on both research and business development. In 2015, ARK Invest became the first public fund manager to invest in bitcoin, offering the first two ETFs (ARKW and ARKK) with bitcoin exposure. Chris frequently appears in media outlets including Forbes, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, CoinDesk and more. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS from Stanford. ADAM WHITE Adam White is the Vice President of Business Development & Strategy at Coinbase. He has worked as a consultant at Bain & Co. and as a product manager at Activision Blizzard. Prior to that, he tested experimental aircraft as a Captain in the United States Air Force. Adam holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Optical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. SPECIAL THANKS to our contributors Catherine Wood / Brett Winton /