A “herd of institutional investors” is coming for crypto, according to Mike Novogratz, a former Wall Street executive and hedge fund manager who entered the crypto space in 2015.
Novogratz’ statement came as part of his keynote speech at Korea Blockchain Week last week, and he elaborated on it during an interview with The Street.
According to Novogratz (who raised $250 million for Galaxy Digital – his crypto merchant bank – earlier this year), institutional investors are beginning to see the potential in blockchain technology, which he believes is seeing increasing adoption and can grow as the internet did. The former Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) executive also believes initial coin offerings will see more institutional investors contribute as they seek to expand their portfolios and diversify into the crypto sphere.
While speaking to CNBC, on the sidelines of the same conference, Novogratz affirmed that “institutional FOMO” was very real. However, he predicted that there will be a “tipping point” for institutions to start flooding into the crypto market, which has not yet been reached.
Novogratz also went on to point out that institutional investors are “risk-averse” – therefore, the influx of institutional investors in the crypto space, as well as Bitcoin’s recovery from its current slump, both depend on the provision of “custody from a trusted source” (according to him, institutions may not trust the likes of Coinbase, BitGo or Xapo) and “a little more regulatory clarity”.
Novogratz’ comments come at a time when Bitcoin is experiencing a price surge, having crossed the $8,000 mark after a prolonged decline following its January highs.
The recent resurgence in Bitcoin is believed to be due to the SEC’s much-anticipated decision on ETF proposals by VanEck and SolidX, which CBOE intends to list. Discussion on these proposals is currently ongoing, and if a Bitcoin ETF gets the SEC’s stamp of approval, Novogratz’ statement just might come true.
During his interview with The Street, Novogratz also spoke about EOS, which according to him, will be “much, much, much faster than the other blockchains”. That being said, Novogratz is a staunch Bitcoin supporter, and considers it the real deal.
Presently, as Bitcoin rallies above $8,000, alt-coins are dropping in what is a typical market cycle. Generally, alt-coins start appreciating in value once Bitcoin’s price stabilizes around key levels.
While Bitcoin breaching $8,000 after having seen lows of around $6,200 is a strong confidence booster for the crypto market, the entry of institutional investors may push it all the way to its former high and beyond.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
