Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said he was “praying for four things” in mid-May that he believed would boost crypto prices. The crypto billionaire now says he didn’t expect to see so much progress on his wish list in such a short amount of time. “Eight weeks ago, I was praying for four things that […]
The post Billionaire Mike Novogratz Has Four Wishes To Trigger Next Crypto Market Rally – Here’s His Outlook appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The Galaxy Digital founder believes approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would essentially be a United States regulator and government nod for Bitcoin.
The approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) would equate to a “seal of approval” for Bitcoin from the United States government and its securities regulator, says Mike Novogratz.
In a July 12 interview with Bloomberg TV the founder of crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital spoke about the multiple spot Bitcoin ETF filings before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including one from the $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock.
“What I do think is BlackRock, Invesco [and] the group of ETF providers is a real signal that adoption is coming,” Novogratz said.
He added many are “nervous” about investing in crypto and the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would be an “easy first step” for most to start investing in the asset.
“I just think if it happens it's the seal of approval from the SEC and the U.S. government.”
Novogratz explained there is a “giant infrastructure” in place for the ETFs. Along with BlackRock, proposed ETFs from Valkyrie, Invesco, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity and a joint fund by ARK Invest and 21Shares are also lined up for approval. Novogratz believes that many of these will likely end up being approved.
“The SEC is not going to approve one so you're going to have these giant sales forces out there giving access to people that didn't have access before.”
SEC chair Gary Gensler has previously claimed that “everything other than Bitcoin” falls under his agency’s purview and other crypto projects “are securities" as there are typically known developers and profits are anticipated based on their work.
Related: Don’t be naive — BlackRock’s ETF won’t be bullish for Bitcoin
Novogratz was evasive when asked his thoughts on if Galaxy and Invesco’s spot Bitcoin ETF would be able to list before the end of the year.
“This SEC has been really stubborn and really tough on crypto,” he said.
“No one of significance has gotten through the listing process. We are in that process and it has been a long and frustrating path. I'll leave it at that,” he added.
“I think we're probably going to need either a change of heart at the SEC or a change of administration to see real progress in crypto regulation here in the U.S.”
Novogratz predicted the price of Bitcoin will end the year at a high. “If you take out the top we’ll have a nice leg up,” he said.
Magazine: How smart people invest in dumb memecoins — 3-point plan for success
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly saying that BlackRock and Fidelity’s applications for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) are unclear and incomprehensive. According to a new report by The Wall Street Journal, the regulatory agency recently told Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), who filed the applications on […]
The post SEC Says BlackRock and Fidelity’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Filings Are Unclear and Incomprehensive: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Billionaire Mike Novogratz says that BlackRock filing for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is the best thing that could happen to the king crypto. In a new interview on The Claman Countdown, the Galaxy Digital chief executive says that he’s hoping for BlackRock, an investment firm with over $10 trillion in assets under management, […]
The post Billionaire Mike Novogratz Says BlackRock Filing for a Bitcoin ETF Is the Best Thing That Could Happen to BTC appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz was among those over the moon with the news, others warn it could be the start of a major institutional takeover.
BlackRock’s latest filing for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) trust will drive investors’ confidence in Bitcoin and may even be “the best thing that could happen” to BTC, according to some crypto industry observers — but others warn of a hidden cost.
During an interview on June 16, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said the approval of BlackRock’s ETF application would be “the best thing that could happen to $BTC.”
“I say a Hail Mary every night that Larry Fink and @blackrock pull off a @bitcoin ETF," Novogratz reportedly said on a Fox News segment.
Fun being on @LizClaman show!! And yes, @BlackRock getting a $BTC ETF through would be the best thing that could happen to $BTC. https://t.co/2fFBeB9eyo
— Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) June 16, 2023
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency analyst James Edwards of Finder.com — a financial product comparison website — told Cointelegraph that the timing of BlackRock’s filing should provide “confidence” in both Bitcoin as an asset and also Coinbase in its upcoming legal battle fight with the SEC:
“BlackRock's willingness to press on with a Bitcoin ETF at a time when the SEC is on a warpath against crypto is very telling. It shows confidence in Bitcoin’s status as a commodity – rather than a security,” he said, adding:
“It’s unlikely that BlackRock would push forward with an ETF of this nature without serious consultation with regulators and confidence in Bitcoin's future legal status.”
BlackRock’s intention to use Coinbase Custody to control funds should also be seen as a massive confidence booster for Coinbase as it prepares its legal defense, Edwards explained.
He added that BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager — likely wouldn’t partner with Coinbase had they not been “confident” in Coinbase’s legal position.
Others argue that the traditional investment giant's latest moves undermine the "ethos" of decentralized cryptocurrencies, or, that the company may find a way to profit from retail investors.
Investor Scott Melker explained in a June 16 interview that such an approval would be a disservice to crypto-native innovators who built the industry:
“As good as this may be for institutional adoption of the space, it kind of violates the ethos, it is a bit of a dishonest push away from the people who built the industry in the United States.”
Cinneamhain Ventures partner and Ethereum bull Adam Cochran believes that BlackRock will swoop in on the “discounted coins” of retail investors, a theory also shared by Melker.
Blackrock ETF… https://t.co/3g77QNdAun
— The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) June 15, 2023
Steven Lubka, a managing director at Swan Bitcoin shared a similar view, predicting that BTC will reach $1 million, but few retail investors will reap the rewards because the bulk of BTC will be owned by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and other ETF issuers.
Melker added that Wall Street firms will continue to move into the space and that U.S. regulators will likely “choose them” over incumbent platforms.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs: A beginner's guide to exchange-traded funds
ARK Invest, Grayscale, Fidelity, Galaxy Digital, VanEck, Valkyrie Investments, NYDIG, SkyBridge and WisdomTree are among the other investment firms that have applied to the SEC for similar Bitcoin and cryptocurrency ETFs.
Since the news was first reported, the price of BTC has increased 2.2% to $25,584 at the time of writing.
Interestingly, the Fear & Greed Crypto Index increased from 41 to 47 — leaving the fear zone — following the news of BlackRock’s filing.
Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?
With a score of 17 out of 100, online interest in crypto has taken a big hit from its highest levels reached in May 2021.
A two-month-long lull in cryptocurrency optimism has seen online search interest for “crypto” and other common cryptocurrency terms stumble down to late 2020 levels.
According to data from Google Trends, the term “crypto” currently has a score of 17, which is well off its reference point of 100 in May 2021. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum have followed a similar downward trajectory.
However, search interest for these terms has been in a relatively consistent decline since May 2022, about a month after much of the Terra Luna ecosystem collapsed. A small spike in interest came in early November when the crypto exchange FTX collapsed.
The fall in interest comes as Bitcoin has held steady at around $28,000 for 10 weeks now — price action that Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz recently described as “lackadaisical” and caused by a lack of “institutional excitement right now.”
Guy Turner, commonly known as “Coin Bureau Guy,” suggested in a June 4 Twitter post that the fall in interest also coincides with lower trading volumes on exchanges, which he claims to have reached a 32-month low last month:
"Crypto" search trends are at the lowest point they have been since December 2020.
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) June 4, 2023
This also corresponds to exchange volumes which were at 32 month lows this past May.
Apathy? pic.twitter.com/UPOmhNGeDN
Alternative’s Crypto Fear & Greed Index tells a similar story too, with market sentiment hovering around its current score of 53 — in the “Neutral” zone — for nearly a month now.
Interest hasn’t dipped in every domain of crypto though.
Search volumes for “decentralized finance” and “defi” have managed to increase in 2023, while searches for “memecoin” reached a peak in early May.
Related: Institutions ‘extremely interested’ in crypto ETFs, but buying has cooled: Survey
Nigeria currently holds the highest score for most crypto-related searches, while many of the lowest scores come from South American countries.
On the other hand, search interest for artificial intelligence continues to skyrocket, which many believe is the latest “tech fad.”
Magazine: Crypto winter can take a toll on hodlers’ mental health
The Galaxy Digital CEO said there has been a recent lack of institutional interest in cryptocurrency buying, which has led to deflated enthusiasm in the markets.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz has described the broader crypto market as being “lackadaisical” — or lacking enthusiasm — due mainly to a shying away of institutional investors from cryptocurrencies.
In a June 1 interview with CNBC, Novogratz said that while the relatively small retail buyers add some stability to the market with their modest holdings, the lack of large-scale buyers is becoming a concern.
“There’s a constant bid from retail. We’re seeing it through all the platforms, and there’s just not a lot of institutional excitement right now.”
The claims echo a May 31 report from Coinshare’s head of research James Butterfill, which detailed that institutional buying of digital assets saw outflows totaling $39 million as of last week, the sixth consecutive week of outflows.
Novogratz has however pointed to two significant developments in Asia that may help shift the tide.
First, he pointed out that Chinese social media app WeChat now offers Bitcoin (BTC) price quotes on its app, something he considers a significant milestone given its popularity. At the time of writing WeChat has 1.3 billion monthly active users, according to data from Statista.
Wechat is available for #Bitcoin search and only Bitcoin. A small but big step of China/HK embracing crypto pic.twitter.com/DHq4uqnq5C
— Qinwen Wang (@Qinwen_Wang) June 1, 2023
Secondly, Novogratz looked to Hong Kong which has now officially begun allowing retail customers to trade crypto on regulated exchanges for the first time, an indication of increasing Asian adoption.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Tommy Honan, the head of product strategy at Swyftx agreed that the crypto market has very much “fizzled out” over the course of the last month.
“Activity levels among institutional investors are definitely more muted. But it’s not just institutions, retail investors have been hit in the hip pocket by cost of living pressures,” he said.
As crypto firms are scrambling to come to grips with an ever-more precarious regulatory landscape in the U.S., Honan still expects there to be a strong price recovery when large firms decide to jump back in.
Related: Last BTC price dip before a $30K breakout? Bitcoin wipes weekend gains
“Institutions will come back to the market and when they do, they’ll come back hard. I just don’t expect that to happen in the US until one of two things happens,” he said.
“You either need settled and sensible rules in place for crypto. Or you need the Republicans to win next year’s U.S. elections. Crypto has almost overnight become a crazily partisan issue, which is exactly what the industry didn’t want or need.”
Much like Novogratz, Honan says that Hong Kong presents a unique opportunity for the crypto market, unleashing a new wave of investors into the market as well as offering up a place for U.S.-based firms to set up shop if need be.
Chinese Central Television station has just broadcast news regarding Hong Kong letting people buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other coins.
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) May 24, 2023
This is huge news! China is waking up to crypto again.
What is happening in Hong Kong is only possible with approval from Beijing. Get ready! pic.twitter.com/Zxdi7UZNHK
“We’re watching developments in Hong Kong very closely. If Hong Kong is being used by mainland China as a testing ground for the safe adoption of crypto, it would be a significant tailwind for the market,” Honan said. “We’ve all been looking West for the next bull trigger. Maybe we should have been looking East.”
With Hong Kong now opened up for crypto-related business, a growing number of firms are currently jostling to secure a license.
Magazine: Bitcoin is on a collision course with ‘Net Zero’ promises
Galaxy Digital CEO and founder Mike Novogratz believes that one catalyst could send digital assets soaring within months. In a new interview with CNBC, the billionaire predicts that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in October, after having raised them since last March to lower inflation. Novogratz says the Fed’s rate-cutting will likely […]
The post Billionaire Mike Novogratz Says One Massive Catalyst Will Send Crypto Off to the Races appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Galaxy Digital chief executive and digital asset billionaire Mike Novogratz thinks crypto should be a bipartisan issue. In a new interview with Fox Business, the billionaire discusses the new European Union’s newly passed legal framework for digital assets, arguing that the regulations aren’t perfect but serve as a “positive step” for the sector. Novogratz then […]
The post Small Minority of Democrats Don’t Really Like Crypto Following FTX Debacle, Says Billionaire Mike Novogratz appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz, says that he hopes the US economy remains strong and Bitcoin (BTC) doesn’t hit seven figures within a short period. Novogratz says in a new interview on The Prof G Show that he is not looking forward to Bitcoin exploding by over 3,000% from current levels […]
The post Billionaire Mike Novogratz Says Abrupt Bitcoin Explosion to $1,000,000 Is the Last Thing He Wants – Here’s Why appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
