Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev on “optimism” about future cryptocurrency regulation, bitcoin’s all-time highs, weathering potential market storms and crypto trading as a “technological level.”
Bitcoin’s $100,000 mark is just the beginning of the “frontier of innovation,” according to the CEO of one of the market’s leading trading platforms.
“The question is, do we want the U.S. to be a leader in this new industry like we are in artificial intelligence? I think the answer is obviously yes. We want to continue to lead there,” said Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. “Cavuto: Coast to Coast“Thursday.
“And for a while, we weren’t sure that the current administration (had) that view,” he continued. “But the next one, I think, gets it.”
Bitcoin prices topped $100,000 for the first time on Wednesday night and continued to rise the following day as the cryptocurrency extended its all-time high following President-elect Trump’s election victory and more buzz that the new administration would have a crypto czar.
TRUMP CONGRATULATES BITCOINERS – NAIB BUKELE OF SALVADOR WINS WITH BITCOIN OVER 100 KIS.
On Truth Social, Trump said, “Congratulations Bitcoiners!!! Welcome!!! Together we will make America great again!”
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev talks about hopes for a strategic bitcoin reserve on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast.” (Getty Images)
The crypto boom has driven investors into linked exchange-traded funds. 2X Bitcoin Strategy ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Hashdex Bitcoin and ProShares Bitcoin are among the best performers of the year. tracked by VettaFi, all with triple digit returns well in excess of 100%.
Tenev, who oversees one of the leading investment platforms for stocks, ETFs and cryptos, noted that it is still “early days” for bitcoin as market experts believe that Trump wants to deregulate the crypto’s trading procedures.
“If you look at the market for registered investment advisors, they are now talking about getting into crypto, and it’s a multi-trillion (dollar) market that Robinhood is also tapping into. Corporations – you start hearing more about companies putting bitcoins and crypto-assets in their coffers and on their balance sheets, you’re talking about a strategic bitcoin reserve,” the CEO explained.
O’Leary Ventures chairman Kevin O’Leary weighs in on Trump’s bitcoin rally, saying there is “enormous demand.”
“If this happened, other countries would surely follow suit,” he added. “And the argument is, if it’s like gold, as Jerome Powell said, we have a gold strategic reserve, why not think about diversifying it into cryptocurrencies?”
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies represent the “next evolution” of financial infrastructure, according to Tenev, who likened the trajectory to the integration of data from mainframe, on-premise computing to cloud computing.
However, this does not mean that there are cryptocurrencies immunity to market cycles.
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MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor explains his approach to buying Bitcoin and predicts the asset’s huge future price in the Making Money section.
“Back in 2013 was the first big case where you started hearing about Bitcoin in the news. It went up to $1,000 per coin very, very quickly and then dropped back into the hundreds or even below $100. Then in 2017, it went to $20,000 and back to single digits,” Tenev noted.
“I think people are holding on more. And I think the reason for that is because, especially if you look at the early adopters, a lot of these people believe in the technology. They believe that the future is behind them. And there’s a certain culture built to weather these storms and withstand all the ups and downs.”
Eric Revel of FOX Business contributed to this report.
