Mike Novogratz provided views on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and SEC regulation At Token2049
Mike Novogratz, the experienced investor and founder of crypto-focused business Galaxy Digital, discussed Bitcoin, Ethereum, the NFT landscape, and regulation at a fireside talk today at Token 2049 in London.
When questioned about the future of Bitcoin and Ethereum, Novogratz stated that the two are incomparable. “Bitcoin will be primarily utilized as a store of wealth,” he explained, “similar to liquid gold,” but Ethereum as a technology has a broader range of possible applications. While there is a “potential that [Bitcoin] may be utilized in payments,” Novogratz stated that payments are “unhelpful” to the Bitcoin system. “If you consider Bitcoin to be a completed product, it works.”
Novogratz has long been an outspoken supporter of Bitcoin. His most recent endeavor is a collaboration with Invesco to seek SEC clearance for a Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund). However, he is an Ethereum investor, and Galaxy Digital’s latest product, decentralized finance (Defi) Index fund, entices him deeper into the area.
Nonetheless, Novogratz cautioned onstage at TOKEN2049 that the crypto sector is on the verge of entering a “period of considerable regulatory instability.”
The SEC has recently stretched its muscles, pressuring top US exchange Coinbase to withdraw its Lend product prior to its launch (according to Coinbase) and suing Ripple for $1.3 billion over XRP coin sales. Meanwhile, key financial authorities in the United States are gathering behind closed doors to discuss how to handle stable coins.
According to Novogratz, stable coins “should operate on public blockchains” rather than on a state-run platform like the one China is creating. He said that central banks should establish clear parameters for their growth inside the private sector and that these and other topics will be addressed in the United States over the next three to six months.
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Gary Gensler, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, discussed cryptocurrency twice yesterday, once during an exclusive interview with CNBC and secondly at an address before to the Aspen Security Forum. Since Gensler’s nomination…
Gary Gensler, the newly appointed SEC Chair, has claimed that the SEC is best equipped to oversee the embryonic $2 trillion cryptocurrency sector and the lending mechanisms that are propelling its expansion. However, Novogratz voiced worry that innovation would be “thrown out with the bathwater,” and referred to Gensler as the aspiring “Sheriff of Cryptoville” due to his intention to control the whole sector.
Regulators are lagging behind the rapid development of smart-contract systems such as Ethereum, Solana, and Polkadot, Novogratz stated. These platforms will be evaluated primarily on their speed by crypto traders, and by regulators on their security and decentralization. However, Novogratz notes that regulators “are so far behind at this time that I believe the market will decide.”
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