One of the things that make cryptocurrencies interesting today is the unexpected people who all of a sudden jump into the crypto market. Today, there are countries that even banked on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology to save their economy. In the last year or so, the crypto market has gained popularity and even a bad reputation for its fluctuating prices. Bitcoin almost reached $20K in December only to fall significantly by 2018.
David Swensen, who works as the chief investment officer of Yale University’s $29.4 billion endowment decided to invest in two crypto ventures. Swensen is basically known as Yale’s “Warren Buffet” mainly because of his track record in terms of investing.
According to reports, Swensen is investing in Andresseen Horowitz’s $300 million crypto fund that was closed in June. In addition to this, Swensen also backed Paradign which is a new blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused fund that was started by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and ex-Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang. Though Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, and Yale declined to give any comment regarding the reports, this is simply big news.
Vote of Confidence
What exactly does it mean? It means that it is a much-needed vote of confidence for the crypto market. The crypto market has yet to see a support from such a major endowment and foundation. What exactly did Swansen see in the crypto market?
If you will look at the crypto market today, there are the likes of Mike Novogratz who thinks that Bitcoin has already bottomed. Could this mean that there is an impending bull run again? Many believe that institutional investors are needed in order to see another bull run to happen.
And in the last few months, many are anticipating towards a possible Bitcoin ETF. The Bitcoin ETF applications that were recently rejected by the agency were due to price manipulation. However, there is still the VanEck and Solid X led Bitcoin ETF application that many are optimistic about.
Crypto’s Critics
But of course, there are a number of critics to the cryptocurrency. There are those that compared the crypto market to the dotcom bubble and even called it worse than the tulip bubble. And this is quite normal, especially for a new technology.
For instance, you have JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon who called digital currency a fraud. Also, you have the likes of Warren Buffet and even Bill Gates that have openly criticized the crypto market.
Bill Barhydt who works as the CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Abra explained that “People are excited about it but afraid of being the first, or having to explain themselves”. He also added that “That’s the fear vs. greed of institutional investing. There’s a herd mentality there as much as there is in retail investing”.
Are we going to see more prominent investor to enter the crypto market? Though the crypto market is still young, regulations are slowly shaping up. In fact, even CFTC Chairman J Christopher Giancarlo even gave a statement that “cryptocurrencies are here to stay”. Is this actually the case? Is Bitcoin really going up? Will it be able to go stronger and prove every doubter wrong about the crypto market?
