Barry Silbert, the founder and CEO of Grayscale Investments and Digital Currency Group (DCG), has recently expressed his bullish outlook on Bitcoin in a Grayscale investor call on Feb. 12. He discussed various topics related to digital assets, such as Bitcoin’s role in the generational shift of wealth, stablecoins, decentralized finance and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
CBDCs are digital currencies that a federal regulator controls and issues. Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are fiat money in the digital form. No CBDC has been launched by any global jurisdiction yet, but such projects have been developed and explored by many governments. China is reportedly preparing to test its CBDC soon, while at least 10% of central banks are likely to issue a CBDC for the general public in the short term.
Silbert said that central banks that create their own digital currencies could be empowering Bitcoin by building the infrastructure for institutional interest. He claims to have purchased his first Bitcoin in 2012, three years after the first block on the Bitcoin blockchain was created. He thinks that the same infrastructure that is used by the widespread adoption of CBDCs could benefit Bitcoin and other non-central bank cryptocurrencies: He remarked: “We could have 80 different CBDCs in the future. And if that happens, it would stimulate a massive amount of investment in operators of financial systems where essentially every financial institution would then have to be capable of safely storing and transacting CBDCs and, guess what, if they actually create that infrastructure, that same infrastructure could be applied for non-central bank digital currencies like Bitcoin.” He also said that he was confident that central banks will not cap the supply of the digital currency and will require users to engage and use the existing financial systems. “Central banks love to print money,” Silbert noted, pointing out Bitcoin’s limited supply feature.
Silbert is one of the most influential figures in the cryptocurrency industry, as he leads two major companies that are involved in various aspects of digital assets. Grayscale Investments is the world’s largest digital asset manager, with over $40 billion in assets under management as of Feb. 12. Various crypto-related projects, such as Foundry, Genesis Trading and CoinDesk, are invested in by Digital Currency Group, which is a venture capital firm.
Silbert has long been vocal about his bullish views on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some projects, such as Ripple (XRP), which he regards as centralized and not genuine cryptocurrencies, have also been criticized by him. He has also forecasted that most altcoins will go bankrupt in the long term, while Bitcoin will continue to dominate the market.
In conclusion, Barry Silbert is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry who believes that central bank digital currencies are good for Bitcoin. He maintains that CBDCs will create the infrastructure for institutional interest in non-central bank cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He also highlights that Bitcoin has a limited supply feature that makes it superior to fiat money. He leads two major companies that are involved in various aspects of digital assets: Grayscale Investments and Digital Currency Group.
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