>> FLY FROM BLOOMBERG'S WORLD HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK AND STREAMING ON TWITTER, I AM KAYLEE LINES. KRITI: AND I'M STEPPING IN FOR MATT MILLER. WELCOME TO BLOOMBERG CRYPTO, THE PEOPLE, TRANSACTIONS, AND TECHNOLOGY SHAPING THE WORLD OF FINANCE.
THE CORE OF CRYPTO SKEPTICS HAVE GOTTEN LOUDER A MIDPRICED REGULAR TELE T AND SCRUTINY. WE DISCUSSED RISKS AND REWARDS WITH AN INVESTOR OF QUANTUM SIN -- THE INTEGRITY. KRITI: ADAM BACK TALKS THE BILLIONAIRES TAKE OVER A TWITTER, AN AND BOUGHT -- AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS OVER MINING. KAILEY: AND WE HAVE THE LATEST ON THE METAVERSE FRENZY CAUSING DISRUPTIONS ACROSS THE ENTIRE E THEORY AND BLOCK CHAIN. LET'S GET A SNAPSHOT OF THE MARKET AND THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT ON YOUR BLOOMBERG TERMINAL IS CRYP <GO>. NO SURPRISE GIVEN IT IS A MINSK -- MIXED RISK PICTURE.
YOU NOT SEEING A CLEAR SIGNAL FROM THESE DIGITAL ASSETS. YOU HAVE THEM LOWER INCLUDING BITCOIN, TRADING AROUND THE 30,000 LEVEL AT THE LOWER END OF THE RANGE, REALLY ALL YEAR AND ETHER DOWN A BIT. IT WAS OUTPERFORMING EARLIER, ONTO THE BIG PERFORMANCES FROM THE PRIVACY FOCUSED ALTCOIN. IT HAD BEEN UNDERPERFORMING THE LAST TWO DAYS. TODAY IT IS UP 7.5%. IT HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY MORE VOLATILE THAN SOME OF THE LARGER TOKENS. KRITI:
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT PROBABLY THE BIGGEST CRYPTOCURRENCY HERE, OF COURSE IS BITCOIN BUT I WANT TO DO IT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE MACRO PICTURE. TOMORROW, FOMC LIKELY TO COME UP WITH A 50 BASIS POINT HIKE TO TAME THE INFLATION PICTURE. WHAT ASSET CLASS HAS SERVED AS AN INFLATION HEDGE FOR THAT REASON, MOVING IN TANDEM WITH 10 YEAR YIELDS AS THE INFLATION WAS GETTING PRICED INTO THE MARKET? GOING BACK ABOUT A YEAR, YOU CAN SEE THIS WHITE LINE, STARTING TO SEE THE UPTREND IN INFLATION, REALLY THE ONLY FINANCIAL ASSET CLASS THAT HAS SERVED AS THE INFLATION HEAD. IT HAS BEEN COMMODITIES. THE PURPLE LINE HERE, BITCOIN, SUPPOSED TO BE THE INFLATION HEDGE MOVING IN LINE WITH WHAT THE BOND MARKET WAS PRICING IN REALLY SEEMING TO UNDERPERFORM. THE QUESTION, DOES IT REDEEM ITSELF OUT OF THIS DEFLATIONARY REGIME? THE MESSAGE FOR CRYPTO FROM THE MILKEN INSTITUTE YESTERDAY.
>> THE SPACE HAS BECOME MORE TRUSTED WITH MORE REGULATION HAPPENING. >> GIVEN THE INSTITUTIONAL INCREASE IN CRYPTOCURRENCY, I THINK IT IS REASONABLE TO SEE US BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE CRYPTO SPACE. >> OUR OWN THINKING IS EVOLVING QUICKLY. WE ARE AT SUCH AN EARLY STAGE. >> MY GUESS IS IN 10 TO 20 YEARS WE WILL SEE SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF GLOBAL GDP IS HAPPENING IN THE CRYPTO ECONOMY. >> I'M STILL LOOKING FOR THAT STORY ON HOW CRYPTO HAS MADE THE WORLD SO MUCH BETTER. I CAN GIVE YOU AS TO HOW
BITCOIN CONSUMES AS MUCH POWER AS A SMALL COUNTRY. >> IT IS INCLUSIVE, DEMOCRATIZED, GLOBAL, AND I JUST THINK THAT WILL BE SUCH A NOT GOOD FOR THE WORLD. >> IF WE ARE NOT LUCKY, REGULATORY ARBITRAGE IS GOING TO TAKE THIS MARKET AWAY FROM US. >> WITHIN THIS DECADE, WE WILL HAVE OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD USING CRYPTO. TO ME THAT IS EXCITING. KAILEY:
JOINING US TO ADD HIS VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION IS HARRY YEH, FOUNDING AND MANAGING PARTNER OF QUANTUM THIN TECH GROUP AND A CRYPTO HEDGE FUND FOR HIGH NET WORTH INVESTORS. CURRENTLY HIS NETWORK OF HEDGE FUNDS AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT HAS HARRY AND HIS TEAM MANAGING OVER $2 BILLION IN ASSETS. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. GIVEN YOUR FOCUS ON CHINA OR ITS INVESTORS, I'M WONDERING HOW YOU ARE SEEING THEIR APPETITE FOR THESE ASSETS CHANGING IN AN ENVIRONMENT BECOMING LESS LIQUID, TIGHTER MONETARY POLICY, AND HIGHER RATES. HARRY: THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON THE
SHOW. GREAT TO BE IN THE STUDIO HERE. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION REGARDING FIRST OFF LIQUIDITY. BITCOIN IS STILL PROBABLY THE MOST LIQUID ASSET OUT THERE BEING TRADED IN CRYPTO AND WE ARE STARTING TO SEE MORE PEOPLE REALLY GO INTO THE SPACE. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT THE MARKET CYCLE BEFORE BITCOIN, WHEN THERE WOULD BE A BIG DROP, RIGHT NOW THIS CORRECTION I THINK IS ONLY AROUND 40% VERSUS BEFORE IT WOULD DROP ABOUT 80%.
A LOT OF THIS BEARISH ACTIVITY STARTED BECAUSE OF THE RUSSIAN, UKRAINIAN CRISIS. TYPICALLY WHAT WE SEE IN MARKETS AS THE SELLING MAY GO AWAY IN MAY AND WE EXPECT A MARKET RECOVERY IN SEPTEMBER. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SUPER CYCLE, SO TYPICALLY WHEN WE ARE IN THE START OF A SUPER CYCLE, WHERE CRYPTO BECOMES MAINSTREAM, YOU WILL SHAKE OUT A LOT OF WEEKENDS. YOU START TO SEE THAT IN THE MARKET NOW. JUST AS WE SAW IN THE LAST COUPLE DAYS, HUGE VOLATILITY IN THE MARKET. KAILEY: ARE YOUR CLIENTS SEEING CRYPTO AS A HEDGE AGAINST SOME OF THE MACRO UNCERTAINTIES OUT THERE, A HEDGE AGAINST THINGS LIKE INFLATION OR ARE THEY SEEING IT AS A RISKIER INVESTMENT WITH THE POTENTIAL OF HIGHER RETURNS? I'M WONDERING WHAT ROLE IT SERVES WITHIN A PORTFOLIO FOR SOME OF YOUR INVESTORS. HARRY:
I THINK THERE ARE THREE THINGS YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT. FIRST IS THE HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION. THE SECOND IS A STORED VALUE AND THE THIRD IS UTILITY USE. SO MOST LAUNCHINGS OUT THERE PROVIDE UTILITY SUCH AS SALINA, CARR DANO, E THEORY ON -- ETHER IUM SO YOU CAN BUILD DECENTRALIZED APPLICATIONS ON TOP OF THESE PLATFORMS. FOR EXAMPLE, USCP, STABLE COINS HAVE ESSENTIALLY COMPLETELY CHANGED THE WAY WE INTERACT, EVEN WITH DOLLARS BECAUSE BEFORE YOU COULD ONLY SEND MONEY DURING THE WEEK BUT NOW WE CAN SEND MONEY 24 HOURS A DAY AND SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
KRITI: IT NEVER CLOSES. HARRY: AND NEVER CLOSES. IT'S GOOD AND BAD BECAUSE AS A TRAITOR YOU ARE CONSTANTLY RUNNING AROUND THE CLOCK SO I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD -- I KIND OF WISH SOMETIMES THERE WAS A MARKET OPEN AND CLOSED BUT THE REALITY IS THERE IS NO STOP BECAUSE THIS IS A GLOBAL PHENOMENON. KRITI: SPEAKING OF A GLOBAL PHENOMENON, YOU MENTIONED RUSSIA AND UKRAINE. WE KNOW ADOPTION WHEN IT COMES TO BITCOIN, ESPECIALLY IN DONATIONS, CRYPTO HAS BEEN A KEY MEANS OF THE WAY TO DO IT.
I'M CURIOUS IN THE FACE OF A STRENGTHENING DOLLAR AS WELL, DO YOU SEE THE ROLE OF BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCYS FADE AS A RISK UPSET -- CRYPTOCURRENCY'S FATE AS A RISK ASSET? HARRY: NOT NECESSARILY. I THINK YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THAT APPETITE FOR RISK. RIGHT NOW YOU'RE JUST NOT GETTING THESE YIELDS THAT YOU WOULD GET FROM TRADITIONAL BONDS AND EQUITIES WITH THE EXCEPTION OF EQUITY SUCH AS TESLA STOCK WHICH HAS DONE RELATIVELY WELL. YOU ARE ONLY REALLY ABLE TO FIND TWO MASSIVE RETURNS IN THE CRYPTOCURRENCY SPACE.
LAST YEAR, WE INVESTED IN -- AND IT WENT ALL THE WAY UP TO $3.5 AND IS TRADING AROUND 75 CENTS TO $.80. ANOTHER ONE THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A YEAR, ONE OF THE PROJECTS I TOOK OVER, SO ASIDE FROM THIS RUNNING HEDGE FUND I HAVE A PROJECT CALLED TOMB AND THE NUMBER ONE PROJECT ON SENT, THIS ONE HAS AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE JUST LOOKING TO PARK THEIR MONEY AND EARN INTEREST IN RETURNS. SO A LOT OF THESE PLATFORMS ALLOW FOR US TO INNOVATE IN FINANCIAL SPACES THAT WE HAVE NOT TRADITIONALLY BEEN ABLE TO AND IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN KIND OF LIKE A SPLIT VIEW. THIS IS THE EXCITING THING ABOUT CRYPTO IN THE SPACE. WE ARE WATCHING ANOTHER ON TOP OF PHANTOM AS WELL SO THAT IS EXCITING. THERE IS A HUGE COMBINATION BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE, WHICH IS WHY I HAVE HAVE BEEN IN SPACE FOR SO LONG, VERY EXCITING TIME. KRITI:
IN THE MACRO SPHERE, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CALLS FOR A COMMODITY SUPER CYCLE. FOR EXAMPLE, CRYPTOCURRENCIES ARE NOT JUST CURRENCIES LIKE THE DOLLAR, THEY HAVE THE OTHER HALF, A COMMODITY AS WELL. AS A SUPER CYCLE FOR BITCOIN IN PARTICULAR IN THE CARDS? HARRY: ABSOLUTELY BECAUSE BITCOIN IS THE LEADING INDICATOR. IT IS ALMOST KIND OF THE DIGITAL VERSION OF COLD. -- GOLD. EVERYTHING TRADES AGAINST BITCOIN. WHEN BITCOIN DOES WELL, IT IS THE BELLWETHER FOR THE ENTIRE MARKET ON HOW IT WILL PERFORM. WE ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE -- I
THINK THERE ARE $2 TRILLION IN THE CRYPTO CURRENCY SPACE SO BITCOIN IS POISED TO HIT MY TARGET AT $400,000. KAILEY: WE ARE A LONG WAY OFF FROM THAT. YOU MENTIONED HOW THE CRYPTOCURRENCY SPACE IS GROWING IN INTERSECTION OF FINANCE AND TECHNOLOGY. I'M WONDERING ABOUT YOUR VIEW ON INSTITUTIONAL PLAYERS, MORE TRADITIONAL WALL STREET FIRMS AND THE LIKE ENDING IN ON THE SPACE AND COMPETITION YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE FACING. HARRY: TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I THINK IT IS A VALIDATION THAT TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONAL AND LARGER FINDS, THEY NEED TO DIVERSIFY OUT IF THEY WANT TO HAVE ACCESS TO CRYPTO.
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WE CREATED TWO HEDGE FUNDS BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING SERVICING TRADITIONAL CLIENTS THAT WANTED TO ENTER THE SPACE. I THINK YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THE SYSTEMS HAS A NEW ALTERNATIVE ASSET CLASS. KAILEY: IS THERE ADEQUATE REGULATIONS TO CONTINUE TO SEE THIS? DO YOU NEED MORE DEFINED RULES? HARRY: I DEFINITELY BELIEVE A GOOD -- I'M ALWAYS A BIG FAN OF LIGHT REGULATION BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO HAVE CONSUMER PROTECTION, KY SEE, AML, THOSE ARE IMPORTANT THINGS TO PREVENT BAD ACTORS, BUT DEFINITELY I WOULD SAY LIGHT REGULATION HELPS GUIDE AND VALIDATES THE TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTS. FOR EXAMPLE, CLIENT BASE IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB, ALL OF THESE GUYS ARE FRIENDS WE HAVE KIND OF SCENE BUILD ON COMPANIES FROM THE BEGINNING. I THINK REGULATIONS IS VALID ON WHAT WE ARE DOING THE SPACE. KAILEY: HARRY YEH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AND WE WILL BE TALKING TO ADAM LATER, LOOKING FORWARD, ADAM BACK, COFOUNDER OF BLOCKING TECHNOLOGY BLOCK STREAM IS COMING UP. KRITI: AND THE SEC ADDS OFFICIALS TO A
TEAM OF DEDICATED -- DEDICATED ON PRICING CRYPTO. THAT IS AHEAD. KAILEY: TO ACCESS THE LATEST DATA AND NEWS ON CRYPTO, CHECK OUT CR >> I THINK FREEDOM IN ALL FORMS IS WORTH DEFENDING AND CRYPTO IT A LOT OF IT IS ABOUT ECONOMIC FREEDOM, FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS ANOTHER VERSION. I THINK THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TWITTER TO ESSENTIALLY EMBRACE USING A DECENTRALIZED PROTOCOL AND JUST IN THE WAY YOU PROBABLY HEARD OF NEPHI, DECENTRALIZED FINANCE, THERE IS ANOTHER CALLED DESO, DECENTRALIZED SOCIAL MEDIA, ANOTHER EMERGING AREA COMING UP.
KAILEY: CLIENT BASE CEO BRIAN ARMSTRONG DISCUSSING THE MOSQUE/TWITTER DEAL AT THE GLOBAL CONFERENCE YESTERDAY. JOINING US NOW IS ADAM BACK COFOUNDER, AND COO BLOCK STREAM, PART OF ANOTHER VENTURE SHOWCASING THE ALIGNING INTERESTS OF ELON MUSK AND TWITTER COFOUNDER JACK DORSEY. THE THREE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO BUILD A BITCOIN MINING FARM IN TEXAS. ADAM, CLEARLY YOU KNOW BOTH OF
THESE MEN WHO HAVE STAKES IN THIS DEAL. DO YOU ENDORSE MOSQUE'S TWITTER TAKE OVER -- MUSK'S TWITTER TAKE OVER? ADAM: I THINK IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE A MORE NEUTRAL PLATFORM, MORE -- DEPLATFORMING HAS BEEN CONTROVERSIAL SO IT IS GOOD TO SEE NEW MANAGEMENT AND SEE WHERE THAT LEADS. KAILEY: WHAT IS YOUR FEELING ON THIS IDEA OF DECENTRALIZING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TWITTER? ADAM: I'M PRETTY INTERESTED IN DECENTRALIZATION. THERE WAS A PREVIOUS COUNTRY DOING A STARTUP, PEER TO PEER, AND I THINK EVENTUALLY DECENTRALIZATION IS THE ANSWER SO THERE IS NO KIND OF ENTITY IN CHARGE THAT IS PUSHED TOWARD POLICY DECISIONS. KRITI: I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE
MINING OPERATIONS IN PARTICULAR, THIS IDEA ABOUT MOVING UP -- MOVING THE ARM TEXAS. CHINA, A LEADING CRYPTO MINOR, DO YOU THINK THE ENERGY GRID HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AND SPECIFICALLY IN TEXAS CAN HANDLE THAT? ADAM: I MEAN TEXAS IS EXPANDING AND IS BRINGING IN A LOT OF NEW SOLAR AND WIND POWER ONLINE OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS RESCHEDULED. FOR OURSELVES, WE ARE BUILDING -- AS WELL.
THAT WAS THE PROJECT WE ANNOUNCED WITH SQUIRE AND NOW BLOCK. TESLA PROVIDING THE INFRASTRUCTURES, DOING INSTALLATION, PROVIDING THE MEGA PACK, NATURALLY OFF GRID POWER SO IT HELPS PREVENT -- SO BITCOIN MINING CAN FIND A FOR THE FUTURE KRITI: GIVEN IT IS ENERGY INTENSIVE, WE HAVE A NEWER QUESTION ABOUT HOW SQUARE IS WITH THE ESD NARRATIVE AND MOTIVE. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? ADAM: I THINK IT'S INTERESTING. POLICYMAKERS WANT TO PUSH THINGS TOWARD A MORE GREEN POWER SOURCE BUT ULTIMATELY POWER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS HAVE TO GET FINANCED.
FOR THAT TO WORK, SOMEONE HAS TO HAVE A BUSINESS MODEL. A BITCOIN MINING IN OUR VIEW HELPS THE PROFITABILITY AND VIABILITY ON INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD PROJECTS FOCUSED ON THIS ONE AND WE ARE INTERESTED IN GROWING AT 100 TIMES BIGGER WITH PROJECT FINANCING THAT IS ULTIMATELY BACKSTOPPED ON BITCOIN MINING, BEARING IN MIND BITCOIN MINING IS AN ALWAYS ON DEMAND FOR ANY EXCESS POWER WHERE RESIDENTIAL AND INDUSTRIAL USES MOVE UP AND DOWN DURING THE DAY AS PEOPLE COME HOME FROM WORK OR WORK STARTS. KAILEY: THIS IS AN INTERESTING THESIS, THE IDEA YOU ARE IN MANY WAYS HELPING ACCELERATE A TRANSITION TO GREEN ENERGY, EVEN AS YOU ARE CONSUMING IT. OBVIOUSLY IT IS A TRANSITION
FOR A REASON. WE ARE NOT ALL THE WAY THERE YET AND THE FUEL AND ENERGY SOURCES WE DO HAVE ACCESS TO HAVE GOTTEN MORE EXPENSIVE, WHICH HAS RAISED THE QUESTION FOR MINORS IN PARTICULAR OF MARGINS AND THE COSTS YOU FACE. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? ADAM: YES.
THERE IS SOME ADVANTAGE TO BITCOIN MINING. IT COULD BE AT ANY LOCATION SO IT CAN MAKE USE OF STRANDED POWER, ABOUT 30% OF GLOBAL POWER GENERATION IS REJECTED FROM NO IMMEDIATE DEMAND FOR IT. SO BITCOIN CAN SUCK IT UP AND DO IT IN REMOTE LOCATIONS FOR EXAMPLE.
AND OF COURSE THE OTHER FACTOR IS IF THIS PENDULUM SWUNG TOO FAR IN ESD POLICIES WHERE THEY GAVE UP AND SWITCHED OFF NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS IN GERMANY PREMATURELY AND REDUCED THE POWER GENERATION AND DAMAGED THE POWER SOVEREIGNTY BASICALLY. I THINK A LOT OF COUNTRIES WILL BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT AND THEREFORE INTERESTED TO SEE ZERO MISSION IN GREEN POWER INFRASTRUCTURE STANDARD AND NEW INTEREST IN BUILDING NEW NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS GLOBALLY. KAILEY: OBVIOUSLY YOU SEE AN OPPORTUNITY IN TEXAS, HENCE THE JOINT VENTURE WITH BLOCK AND TESLA THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING. WHERE ELSE WILL THERE BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT? ADAM: I THINK THE TEXAS LOCATIONS THAT HAVE A HIGH DUTY CYCLE WIND POWER AS WELL, SO WE ME -- MAY ADD WIND TO THE MIX WHICH HELPS WITH ECONOMICS. THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES AROUND
THE WORLD, EXPORTERS OF HYDROPOWER FOR EXAMPLE, URUGUAY AND PARAGUAY, HAVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF HYDROPOWER. THE GLOBAL SUPPLY OF READY TO USE POWER IS QUITE HIGH ON THE HYDRO SITE PARTICULARLY, FOR EXAMPLE THE QUEBEC PROVINCE. CANADA HAS UNUSED, READY TO TURN ON HYDROPOWER THAT IS EQUAL TO MORE THAN THE ENTIRE BITCOIN NETWORKS, POWERED BY THAT PROVINCE OF CANADA FROM ALREADY ESTABLISHED -- IT IS UNTAPPED GLOBALLY AS WELL AS WIND AND SOLAR. KRITI: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ADOPTION OF BITCOIN IN PARTICULAR, IF WE USE EL SALVADOR AS A CASE STUDY, THE FIRST COUNTRY TO USE IT AS LEGAL TENDER. AND HAS NOT REALLY BEEN PICKING UP. WHAT TIME HORIZON ARE WE LOOKING AT FOR THE UNITED STATES TO SEE MORE ADOPTION? ADAM: I THINK THAT THE PEOPLE USE BITCOIN FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.
THE U.S. IS MORE ADOPTING BITCOIN AS AN ASSET CLASS OF SAVINGS, FOR EXAMPLE THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT BY FIDELITY TO OPEN UP BITCOIN AS AN ASSET CLASS THE MULTITRILLION RETIREMENT AND FUND BUSINESS. WHEREAS EMERGING MARKETS APPLY THIS OFFENSE SO THEY SKIP TO SOFTENS AND HAVE HIGH SOFTENED PENETRATION.
FOR EMERGING MARKETS, THERE ARE UNDER BANKS OR UN-BANKED OR LOCAL BANKS NOT TRUSTED DUE TO SOLVENCY AND CORRUPTION. I THINK FOR THE EMERGING MARKETS, THE COIN IS INTERESTING REMITTANCE IN DOMESTIC PAYMENTS AS A BACKSTOP TO UNSTABLE LOCAL CURRENCIES. KAILEY: ADAM BACK OF BLOCK CHAIN -- BLOCKSTREAM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. COMING UP, WE TURN TO THE FRENZY IN THE METAVERSE, HOW A VIRTUAL LAND SALE RAISED MILLIONS AND CAUSED A RIPPLE EFFECTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE ETHERUM BLOCK CHAIN. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. ♪ KAILEY: THIS IS BLOOMBERG CRYPTO.
I AM KAYLEE LINES WITH KRITI GUPTA. MALCOLM TOOK CRYPTO STORIES THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE, A FOUNDATION WILL STOP ACCEPTING CRYPTOCURRENCY DONATIONS. THE ORGANIZATION -- ORGANIZATION BEHIND WIKIPEDIA SAID IT WAS MADE DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION -- ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. KRITI: THE SEC IS EXPANDING ITS CRYPTO
AND CYBER ENFORCEMENT TEAM ADDING 20 MORE OFFICIALS TO MAKE A FULL 50 DEDICATED PHYSICIANS. THE CHAIR SAYS THEY WILL NOW BE BETTER EQUIPPED TO PROTECT INVESTORS AND CRACKDOWN ON WRONGDOING. KAILEY: ON SATURDAY, A SALE OF VIRTUAL LAND IN THE METAVERSE RAISED ABOUT 320 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF CRYPTOCURRENCY IN THE LARGEST OFFERING OF ITS KIND. THE MAN FOR THE UPCOMING
PROJECT WAS SO STRONG ACTIVITY RELATED TO THE EVENT CAUSED RIPPLE EFFECTS ACROSS THE ENTIRE BLOCK CHAIN, DISRUPTING ACTIVITY AND SENDING TRANSACTION FEES SOARING. THIS IS AN INTERESTING ONE AND FOR MORE, WE ARE JOINED BY DAVID PAN, HERE WITH US IN NEW YORK. DAVID, WHY WERE THERE SO MANY PEOPLE RUSHING TO BUY THIS VIRTUAL LAND IN OTHER SITES? DAVID: I THINK THE RETRO SALE WAS LARGELY DRIVEN BY THE COMMUNITY THAT FOLLOWS THE YACHT CLUB COLLECTION OF NFT USE. AND THESE BUYERS ARE BETTING ON THE POSITIVE PROSPECT IN TERMS OF THE VALUE OF THE NFT IS TO GO UP AND APPRECIATE OVER TIME AS THE FRENCH HAS BECOME MORE POPULAR. KRITI: HOW DOES THE BLOCK CHAIN ITSELF GET CONGESTED? DAVID: THIS ATTRACTED A LOT OF BUYERS AT THE TIME.
THAT CREATED A PROBLEM FOR THE NETWORK AND CREATED THE CONGESTION ON THE ETHEREUM DUE TO THE CAPACITY OF THE NETWORK. WITH THE TRANSACTION FEES GOING UP HIGH, A LOT OF OTHER USERS, OTHER PEOPLE USING OTHER ETHEREUM-BASED APPS COULD NOT USE THEIR TRANSACTIONS OR OTHER ENTITIES AT THE TIME. KRITI: YOU SAID LIMITED CAPACITY. HOW DID YOU KNOW LAB AND OTHER PLATFORMS THAT NEED TO ADDRESS THIS, HOW DO THEY ADDRESS IT GOING FORWARD? DAVID: ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING PROPOSALS THAT I HAVE HEARD SO FAR IS THEY MIGHT LAUNCH A BLOCK CHAIN DIFFERENT FROM ETHEREUM WITH HIGHER TRANSACTION SPEED AND LOWER TRANSACTION FEES AT THE SAME TIME. KAILEY:
DAVID PENNA BLOOMBERG, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US WITH YOUR REPORTING ON THE STORY. THIS WAS AN INTERESTING ONE. WE WERE FOLLOWING THIS WEEK BECAUSE THERE WERE MULTIPLE PARTS. YOU HAVE THE METAVERSE, ETHEREUM AND THE BLOCK CHAIN, BOARD APES WHICH HAS GOTTEN POPULAR, REALLY GOING TO SHOW YOU THE MENTALITY AROUND SO MUCH OF THIS. THE OTHER STORY THAT WE HAVE READ AS WELL RELATES TO GARY GENSLER BULKING UP HIS TEAM AROUND REPTILE AT THE SEC AND THIS IS A CONVERSATION WE HAVE BEEN HAVING FOR WEEKS NOW, THE TURF WAR BETWEEN THE SEC AND SEE SEC AND WHO SHOULD BE REGULATED -- CSEC, AND WHO SHOULD HAVE THIS REGULATION. KRITI: YOU MENTIONED THE CULTLIKE, FRENZY LIKE BEHAVIOR. WE HAVE BEEN HERE AT THE RETAIL TRADE FRENZY.
THIS IS INTERESTING TO SEE THAT CRYPTO IS GETTING THE SAME MOMENTUM AND ALL THE MORE YOU SEE SOME AUTHORITIES REALLY BULK UP. KAILEY: AND IT IS NO LONGER LIMITED TO RETAIL TRADERS EITHER AND THIS IS THE CONVERSATION WE WERE HAVING WITH HARRY YEH, THE FACT HE FOCUSES ON HIGH NET WORTH INDIVIDUALS WHO WANT TO BE INVESTED IN THE SPACE AND HE IS STARTING TO SEE MORE INSTITUTIONAL BUY-IN. MAJOR WALL STREET NAMES OF THE LIKES OF GOLDMAN SACHS AND FIDELITY ADDING CRYPTO OPTIONS TO 401(K)S REALLY GOES TO SHOW YOU THE BROADER INSTITUTIONAL TRANSITION WE ARE SEEING HERE. IT IS NO LONGER ABOUT PEOPLE ON REDDIT AND THE RETAIL TRADE. KRITI: A COMES AT A TIME WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR YIELD IN DIFFERENT PLACES, COMMODITY, BINDS WITH REALLY OLD, STOCKS THAT DO NOT CATCH A BREAK. IT IS CRYPTO THE ANSWER TO THOSE PROBLEMS? KAILEY: THAT IS THE CONVERSATION AND EQUESTRIAN -- AND A QUESTION WE WILL SEE THE ANSWER TO. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
NEXT WEEK, THE CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF BITWISE ASSET MANAGEMENT WILL BE JOINING US.
2022-05-06