Despite the recovery, many crypto investors are still reeling with the losses they incurred in March, when the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies plunged by some 50% over a single 24-hour period.
Even still, some investors haven’t been fazed, with Mike Novogratz — CEO of Galaxy Digital and a former Goldman Sachs partner — cementing himself as an unwavering Bitcoin bull in a recent interview with Bloomberg, not conceding to bears one bit.
“This Is the Time for Bitcoin”
Despite the uncertainty in global markets, Novogratz told Bloomberg TV on Monday that he believes now is a perfect time to continue to accumulate Bitcoin in spite of the cryptocurrency slumping 35% from its February highs. He explained:
I’m long gold, I’m long bitcoin – we are seeing a monetization of debt like we have never seen in our lifetimes. To me in the long run, that has to make hard assets look better.
In contrast, he said he is short stocks and the credit market, seemingly falling in line with the sentiment that the ongoing rally in the S&P 500 is one based on baseless hope, not the economic reality of the ongoing crisis.
The core reason why Novogratz is long on Bitcoin is, as he said, the “monetization of debt.”
Governments and central banks the world over have kicked into overdrive over the past few weeks to combat the economic and monetary implications of the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting recession.
Among the countless actions that have been taken: the White House is sending $1,200 to a majority of Americans, the Federal Reserve has dropped its interest rate to 0% and has pledged to buy trillions worth of bonds, Canada is offering small businesses a $40,000 interest-free loan ($10,000 of which is forgivable), Spain is considering a Universal Basic Income, and much more.
As the Galaxy Digital CEO said, all this makes “hard assets look better.”
Furthering Novogratz’s point, in 30 days the Bitcoin block reward halving will transpire, dropping the inflation rate of the cryptocurrency from around 3.8% to 1.9%. The fact that the halving comes as the world’s central banks have begun debasing their currencies is perfect, Novogratz and other analysts have explained.
Institutional Adoption is Happening
Another thing that Novogratz signaled is that he’s optimistic about the cryptocurrency’s prospects as it is in the midst of seeing strong adoption from institutional players, specifically pointing towards high-net worth individuals and hedge funds as incoming investors in the Bitcoin space.
He isn’t kidding. Last week, Fidelity Digital Assets — the crypto services division of Wall Street giant Fidelity Investments, a firm with trillions under management — confirmed to The Block that it has seen an uptick in institutional interest. A spokeswoman for Fidelity speaking to The Block said:
From a trading perspective, we continue to onboard new clients every month and are seeing significant pipeline growth. […] And in recent weeks, we’ve seen more momentum across our business.
The reporter’s sources confirmed this, saying that Fidelity’s cryptocurrency arm has been fielding an increase in “inbounds from pension funds, family offices, and macro global hedge funds,” backing up Novogratz’s comment.
While he didn’t mention his prediction in this latest interview with Bloomberg, Novogratz last week told CNBC that he remains certain Bitcoin will pass $12,000 in October, then eclipse its previous all-time high of $20,000 by the end of the year.
As reported by Blockonomi previously, the former Goldman partner allocated so much faith in this forecast that he quipped:
“This is the year of Bitcoin and if it doesn’t go up now by the end of the year, I might just hang my spurs.”
