Over the past few months there has been a lot of hype surrounding the Digital Asset Management (DAM) space in general and the Melon protocol in particular. Launching a fully automated, blockchain verified platform that enables users to deploy, track and manage their own investment funds opens the doors of the financial industry to a world of new participants. Investors and fund managers alike that may have otherwise been excluded from certain financial vehicles and investments are finally able to access and benefit these products. The opportunities that the Melon protocol promises to deliver to its stakeholders over the long run is massive and has the potential to reshape the very infrastructure of the global financial system.

On the other hand, so are the risks.

All of us who have been involved in crypto for any significant amount of time are well aware of the risks, scams and challenges that surround participating in such a new and incredibly revolutionary industry. Most of us have had to learn the hard way that markets have a tendency to zig when they look like they’re going to zag, have answered the almost irresistible siren call to participate in the odd pump-and-dumps and now know that if your favorite crypto influencer seems to be giving away ETH for free on twitter he probably isn’t and you’re gonna get taken for all you’ve got.

Hard lessons have been learned by participants in the crypto space who have been forced to educate themselves on the fly. Many have lost a little, a few have lost everything.

These risks exist in no small part due to the fact that there are currently few (and as of very recently no) safety nets, regulations and industry watchdogs to protect investors and help keep them from taking on too much risk in the crypto space. In a lot of ways this freedom to try and fail is what makes crypto great in the first place. The chance to “Be Your Own Central Bank” is infinitely liberating. It can also be (if you’re not properly equipped and educated) infinitely risky.

Traditional finance on the other hand, has infrastructure in place to help investors identify and mitigate risks, establish investment goals and ensure that the individuals and institutions that are managing funds are appropriately educated, accredited and trustworthy.

While the merits and functionality of this existing system is dubious at best (see any of the latest attempts by the Federal Reserve to prop up the financial markets or Meltem Demirors latest “Money printer go bRRRRRRR” tweets…I think we are up to 13 R’s now?) The idea is that when these tools are used appropriately and function properly this infrastructure is an effective risk mitigation mechanism and helps investors achieve reasonable investment goals.

Gorilla Funds believes in the Melon protocol.

We believe that in giving talented fund managers access to a universe of assets and an almost unlimited pool of investors (all one needs is a crypto wallet and some ETH to get involved) while virtually eliminating the cost of fund setup, Melon promises to fundamentally change how the infrastructure of the financial world operates.

Gorilla Funds is helping the Melon ecosystem grow by building the tools fund managers need to bring their investment strategies to the world.

We also believe that along with these new opportunities comes a responsibility to provide new investors and stakeholders with access to the tools they need to make informed, responsible and profitable choices when deciding what to do with their hard earned money (weather crypto or fiat) Obviously, TINFA (This is not financial advice) and DYR (Do your own research.) need not be said….but hey….there it is anyway.

We’ll never tell you what to do or how to think about a fund, project or investment. We would however, like to help you find answers to some common investment questions and basic financial concepts as they live and operate within the crypto space.

That’s what the Gorilla Funds blog is here for.

While there are tonnes of places on the internet where a person can educate themselves on the financial terms and concepts they need to understand in order to be a responsible investor, we wanted to use our blog as a platform to explore the topics and concepts people will need to understand when investing specifically in the Digital Asset space. We will be introducing different fund managers leveraging the Melon protocol, exploring the various asset classes that are available on Melon (and might be in the future) and diving into basic financial concepts like risk management, defining investment goals and developing exit strategies. All things that people should consider prior to making any kind of investment.

Over the longer term we’ll dive deeper into these ideas and hopefully as adoption of the Melon protocol grows along with it’s community of users we will be able to help people become better, more responsible and educated investors. Of course we will also be covering relevant events in the crypto, DeFi and traditional financial spaces along the way.

The fun part of this whole thing is that we are not experts either. We will be learning right there along with our readers. Hopefully the questions that we’re interested in answering are the same ones that new users will be asking as they interact with Melon, Crypto and Digital Asset investments for the first time.

Our goal is to do what we can to help make the ecosystem of participants in the Melon protocol safer and better educated. We want to act as a platform for great projects built on Melon to introduce themselves to the world and we want to do our part to help facilitate the adoption of DAM and DeFi for the world.

Credits: Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash