On May 11, FTX founder SBF accepted a live interview with Bloomberg and expressed his views on the differences between cryptocurrencies and traditional finance and the changes in the financial era. FTX had a trading volume of over $400 billion in April, while Coinbase stock also had a market capitalization of $58 billion after its listing, thanks to growing volumes in the cryptocurrency market.
The Bloomberg host asked SBF on this matter: "Do you think the current cryptocurrency craze is a phenomenon out of control, or is traditional finance already outdated (passée)?"
SBF said: This matter can be viewed from two aspects. The first is a more pessimistic idea, that is, there are a lot of leverage in the cryptocurrency market, and it is easy to have a drop of more than 5-20% in a day. It's all about leverage. He went on to say that from an optimistic point of view, in the past year, most financial regulators in the world have begun to make a difference, making more large financial institutions willing to touch cryptocurrency assets, and giving the industry the opportunity to be able to achieve substantial growth.
Bloomberg Moderator: The Governor of the Bank of England said before that investing in cryptocurrencies is to be “prepared to lose everything.” What do you think?
SBF: If you want to invest in cryptocurrency, you must first be mentally prepared to lose money. There's nothing wrong with that, as cryptocurrencies are much more volatile than stocks. However, if you invest in a high-risk investment, you should understand the risks and be prepared to lose money when the market falls.
However, SBF does not consider this a serious matter.
Bloomberg Moderator: Recently, altcoins such as Ethereum and Dogecoin have risen sharply. What do you think about this?
SBF: The rise of Ethereum and Dogecoin are completely different things. Because Ethereum has indeed begun to attract some institutions that only bought Bitcoin in the past, and began to buy Ethereum. The reason for the rise of Ethereum is more complicated, it is caused by many driving forces. Relatively speaking, the reason for the rise of Dogecoin is relatively simple. It's like retail investors buying GameStop (GME) and Telsa (TSLA) hype, especially Musk's buying.
Bloomberg host: Do cryptocurrencies have fundamentals, or is it just speculation?
SBF: "Some coins have fundamentals, but there are also many that are not supported by fundamentals at all. However, from another perspective, what are the fundamental drivers of the value of assets such as gold and the euro? They all come from Our collective imagination. And the operation of many currencies comes from our collective imagination, and the same is true for cryptocurrencies. And because many people want to buy Dogecoin, it also brings value to it.”
Bloomberg host: Will Dogecoin pose a threat to Bitcoin?
SBF: Over the years, there has been a lot of concern about Bitcoin, but it has never had a real impact. The growth of Dogecoin is indeed surprising, but it is still far from Bitcoin. Bitcoin has indeed gained the value recognition of many people and has the most adoption rate, but this does not mean that it will never change. However, what can really challenge the status of Bitcoin is not just a meme, but more incentives that financial institutions are willing to pay attention to.
Host of Bloomberg: If the return to the bear market has an impact on the financial market?
SBF: The current situation is mostly good for the crypto market, because it has come under the spotlight of the financial market. It's not just things like "Bitcoin as an alternative asset" or "safe haven asset". Now blockchain and cryptocurrency are getting more attention than before. But for now, the cryptocurrency market is not yet a systematic point in the global financial market, so it will not have any impact for the time being.
Moderator of Bloomberg: Some people think that it is not important whether Dogecoin has fundamentals, but the point is that it has volatility. What should we pay attention to in such a view?
SBF: That is zero, I would not recommend investing in such high-risk assets. However, just as gold's value doesn't come from its use as a metal, you never know what's going to happen with Dogecoin.
Moderator of Bloomberg: Will there be an IPO plan next?
SBF: It's impossible for us not to think about an IPO, but it's not a near-term plan. What we are doing is that there will be more acquisition plans, and in addition, we will not be acquired in the future.
Original linkhttps://www.theblockbeats.com/news/24144
Original video link:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2021-05-11/ftx-surges-toward-top-of-trading-ranks-video
