Entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano expects more cryptocurrency companies to go public and or get acquired now that a new pro-crypto administration is in the White House.
Coinbase a Winner: Pompliano compared Coinbase Global COIN to iPhone maker Apple during a discussion at the 2024 Benzinga Future of Digital Assets conference.
"Coinbase has something that can't be bought, they have trust," Pompliano said.
Pompliano, an investor in Coinbase, highlighted the company as one of the last big crypto IPOs. In his opinion, Coinbase does right by people, has a product that people love and has grown by word of mouth. With new investors getting interested in crypto, Coinbase has become the number one app in the app store again thanks to its brand awareness.
Pompliano said that while Apple may not have the best phone in the world, the company's brand and connected network of products make the iPhone a strong seller.
"Coinbase is putting together a brand of products," he said.
IPOs and M&A: Pompliano expects the cryptocurrency sector to power a renaissance of IPOs. Young investors, for years wanted to be angel investors and deal with illiquid stakes in companies and investments, Pompliano said.
Crypto is all about liquidity and a new generation of crypto investors realizes the value of liquidity, he added.
Pompliano said right now more companies are going private than public and there are around 4,000 public companies, down from 8,000 in the 1990s.
"The progression into public is going to happen in general," Pompliano said.
The investor also predicts that M&A activity will pick up in the cryptocurrency sector as some companies aren't sustainable. Companies in some cases have built cool products, but don't have a good business model, he added.
Moderator MacKenzie Sigalos of CNBC and Pompliano also discussed the fact that Circle has been wanting to go public for a long time.
Pomplinao said the long-time question is if the government will have too big of an interest in Circle as the largest owner of USD Coin USDC/USD. If Circle goes public it could become more valuable and the bad thing is the company could get too big, Pompliano added.
Coincheck, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange going public via SPAC merger with Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV THCP, was also used to illustrate the potential change in crypto companies getting approval to go public.
What's Next: Pompliano said Bitcoin BTC/USD is the only asset in the world that the higher it goes, the less risky it becomes.
He added that institutions are continuing to become more attracted to Bitcoin as they are subject to FOMO (fear of missing out) just like retailer investors.
"I don't think you've seen anything yet," Pompliano said on institutional interest in Bitcoin.
Pompliano said that, for institutions, the final boss level is when they get their own cryptocurrency custody — something he predicts could happen in the next 24 months.
The investor also said Tuesday that the United States should buy $250 billion in Bitcoin for its strategic reserves.
Pompliano said that while global currencies have often been put into place after violent conflicts are completed, Bitcoin will rise and become a reserve currency without dropping bombs.
Price Action: Bitcoin trades at $92,517.23 at the time of writing, up 1% over the last 24 hours and up 6% over the last week. Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $93,434.26 on Nov. 13.
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© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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