Novogratz said that just like the retail FOMO last year, there will be an institutional FOMO as he expects huge money inflow by Q1 and Q2 of 2019.
By Bhushan Akolkar
Updated
3 mins read
Hedge-fund titan and bitcoin billionaire Michael Novogratz recently said that he expects Bitcoin to climb another 30% before the year-end. Novogratz also said that he expects a further cashflow into the crypto market from institutional players soon as Bitcoin crosses $6,800, $8,800, and $10,000.
While appearing on CNBC Fast Money last Friday, Novogratz pointed, that big players like Goldman Sachs and ICE are developing the necessary infrastructure and solutions for institutional participation. Goldman Sachs has previously stated that it is working on a custody solution for digital assets. While NYSE parent, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) recently announced working on Bakkt platform to increase crypto liquidity.
Explaining the significance of this platform, Novogratz said:
“It’s also a bull market in institutions building the infrastructure needed for real money investors to start investing in this space… I think that in three to six months from now, there will be an “all clear” sign for people — big institutions and pension [funds] — to start investing.”
During the interview, Novogratz made a key revelation that an influential institutional investor has already invested in a Bitcoin Hedge Fund. However, Novogratz refused to name the investor just stating that they are one of the most influential ‘endowments’.
Just like a retail FOMO that happened around the last year-end, there will be institutional FOMO. He said:
“It won’t go there ($20 trillion) right away. What is going to happen is, one of these intrepid pension funds, somebody who is a market leader, is going to say, you know what? We’ve got custody, Goldman Sachs is involved, Bloomberg has an index I can track my performance against, and they’re going to buy. And all of the sudden, the second guy buys. The same FOMO that you saw in retail [will be demonstrated by institutional investors].”
Novogratz also said that in the next three-to-six months, he expects institutional money to start flowing. Moreover, he said that by the Q1 and Q2 of 2019, there will be several cryptocurrency products in the market to boost institutional participation. “I think it’s going to happen we’re talking to lots of them and at that point, you know the sky’s the limit.”
While speaking at the All Markets Summit last week, Michael Novogratz said that the prices have bottomed out and the market has hit a “seller fatigue”. Michael Novogratz is a Bitcoin proponent since long and has also launched his own cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital.
At the summit, the Novogratz also noted that the Galaxy Digital’s cryptocurrency index has reached a “classic bottom”, down 80 percent from its peak. “Bitcoin has held $6,000. Yes, it is off its highs, but it has established itself as a store of value,” Reuters quoted Novogratz.
Soon after Novogratz’s statements last Thursday, the crypto market showed a healthy upswing on Friday, with Ripple (XRP) taking the lead. On Friday, Ripple surged more than 75% and at one point it also left Ethereum behind, in terms of its market cap, to grab the second spot.
Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.
