By Ed Lopez, Head of ETF Product
I continue our special bitcoin podcast series by welcoming Ari Paul, CIO of BlockTower Capital to the show to discuss how bitcoin is traded and the market outlook for the cryptocurrency amidst its growing acceptance and long awaited legitimization by the government, financial services industry and most importantly, investors.
Store of Value vs. Technology — What Will it Be?
Ari and I begin our discussion by taking a walk down memory lane, if you will, by looking back at the crypto space over the last decade or so. Ari began his career in the traditional finance space and describes his introduction to bitcoin and the moment in 2016, when he realized its magnitude, categorizing it as the best asymmetric trade of his lifetime. Today, Ari explains why he still believes in the power of bitcoin and how he thinks about the upside today, versus back in 2016. He also highlights two potential scenarios he sees the cryptocurrency moving towards: store of value versus technology and what both scenarios could mean for the future.
We discuss the mechanics of trading bitcoin by first discussing the technology behind cryptocurrency, i.e., cryptography, and the vital role trust must play between the investor and the given cryptography technology. As normalization of bitcoin continues to increase, the mechanics for trading bitcoin still has a little ways to go. While investors are not able to log into their brokerage account and purchase bitcoin the same way they would a traditional asset, Ari believes we will eventually see this over the next decade. Ari highlights the important role counter party aggressiveness plays in the difference between a stock exchange versus a crypto currency exchange, as well as what investors should look for when evaluating crypto trading platforms and how this should differ between individual investors and institutional investors.
Trend or Fad
Listen for Ari’s take on thematic investing, value stocks and connected home fitness.
Follow Ed Lopez @thatEdLopez and Ari Paul @AriDavidPaul on Twitter.
You can listen and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, and YouTube.
Originally published by VanEck, 4/20/21
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
Please note that VanEck may offer investments products that invest in the asset class(es) or industries included in this blog.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker(s) but not necessarily those of VanEck. Commentaries are general in nature and should not be construed as investment advice. Certain statements contained herein may constitute projections, forecasts and other forward looking statements, which do not reflect actual results, are valid as of the date of this communication and subject to change without notice. Information provided by third party sources are believed to be reliable and have not been independently verified for accuracy or completeness and cannot be guaranteed. Any discussion of specific securities/financial instruments mentioned in the commentary is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy these securities. Fund holdings will vary. All indices mentioned are measures of common market sectors and performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Information on holdings, performance and indices can be found at vaneck.com.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. As with any investment strategy, there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met and investors may lose money. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
Van Eck Associates Corporation