Billionaire Citadel Securities founder compares crypto value to abstract art

May 3, 2022
Billionaire Citadel Securities founder compares crypto value to abstract art

[ad_1]

Billionaire Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin has in contrast cryptocurrency to summary artwork, opining that the worth of each is derived from the attention of the beholder.

Griffin — who Forbes estimates to be value round $26 billion — has made quite a few anti-crypto feedback and urged others away from it prior to now, however seems to have regularly softened his stance over time. He additionally mentioned that Citadel will make a play as soon as it may well accomplish that in a compliant method.

Talking on the worth of crypto on the Milken Institute International Convention in Los Angeles on Might 2, Griffin drew comparisons together with his assortment of “American summary artwork”, noting that:

“Why is a portray value $10 million? It is oil on canvas. So worth is within the eyes of the beholder.”

Whereas he could by no means change into a full-blown proponent, Griffin seems to be at the least joyful to sit down on the fence on a private stage as his market-making agency works to roll out crypto companies.

In that regard, he additionally famous that “the institutional enhance in curiosity in cryptocurrency,” helped sway the agency, and might even see it present “liquidity to institutional, and probably retail, traders.”

“I’ve to stay with the truth that an asset’s value what individuals understand it to be value.”

When it comes to Citadel’s views on crypto, Griffin mentioned it was a “nice hotspot subject of debate” and instructed that the youthful portion of his colleagues are those pushing for the corporate to make a play:

“All my colleagues who’re youthful than I’m, in all probability suppose I’m a dinosaur on this subject. They’re large believers. They consider that cryptocurrency has an vital function within the world economic system as a method of facilitating fee in a web3 world.”

Nonetheless, Griffin outlined that the corporate will take its time to conduct due diligence earlier than making any official strikes, as he paid specific focus to the supposed menace of North Korea.

Griffin typically has held extremely skeptical views in direction of the crypto sector, going so far as to explain Bitcoin (BTC) as a “jihadist name” in opposition to the U.S. greenback again in October.

Nonetheless, he did additionally define that he sees blockchain as “actually attention-grabbing know-how,” regardless of failing to see its worth and argued that Ethereum-based tokens may someday change BTC as the highest canine in crypto.

In March, he even admitted that it was a mistake to be within the “naysayer camp” given the entire market cap of crypto sat at round $2 trillion on the time, and famous that Citadel may quickly make a plunge into the sector.

Associated: Buffett again bashing Bitcoin, claims it ‘doesn’t produce something’

Regardless of his comparatively impartial feedback on this newest event, the billionaire did nonetheless handle to squeeze in a reasonably essential dig at crypto. Griffin argued that it is easy for him to see how corporations corresponding to Amazon and Apple have been in a position to profit the person with their companies and merchandise, however can’t say the identical for Bitcoin.

“These are companies which have actually, clearly modified the world for the higher. I’m nonetheless on the lookout for that story of how crypto has made the world so significantly better. I’m tales about how Bitcoin consumes as a lot energy as a small nation,” he mentioned.