JOHN: BILLIONAIRE CRYPTO
CURRENCY INVESTOR NOW SAYING
CRYPTO CURRENCY PRICES HAVE
REACHED THEIR BOTTOM.
CRYPTO CURRENCIES LIKE BITCOIN
DROPPED SINCE THE START OF THE
YEAR
TODAY, BITCOIN IS UP ABOUT 1%.
WITH ME, THE MAN WHO MADE HIS
FORTUNE IN DIGITAL CURRENCY,
GALAXY DIGITAL CAPITAL
MANAGEMENT FOUNDER.
CURRENCY, THE FIRST BILLIONAIRE
HEDGE FUND GUY, THE FIRST
INSTITUTIONAL GUY WHO MADE SO
MUCH MONEY THAT GOT INTO CRYPTO
CURRENCY.
I GOT AN INTERVIEW WHERE YOU
FIRST INVESTED IN BITCOIN AT
$96.
IT'S ABOUT $6500 TODAY.
>> CALL IT LUCK.
NO.
LISTEN, WHAT I LOOKED AT THEN, I
THOUGHT HERE'S A NEW TECHNOLOGY
UPSET WITH THE INSTITUTIONS OF
THE WORLD.
THEY WERE UPSET WITH BANKS, THEY
WERE UPSET WITH CENTRAL BANKS.
AT THAT POINT, QE2 HAD STARTED
AND YOU WERE PRINTING MONEY AND
PEOPLE REALLY THOUGHT THERE
WOULD BE DEBASEMENT OF FIAT
CURRENCY AND THIS WAS A NEW WAY
OF CREATING A DIGITAL STORE OF
VALUE.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT AT THAT
POINT IS THERE WAS THIS BIG PILE
OF PEOPLE THAT WANT TO LIVE OR
THE GRID, LIBERTARIANS AND
PEOPLE THAT WERE SICK OF THE
GOVERNMENT AND THE CHINESE WERE
IT WAS A GREAT SPECULATIVE
SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT, THIS IS
REALLY A REVOLUTION.
BITCOIN AND THE ENTIRE CRYPTO
SPACE IS ABOUT A GROUP OF PEOPLE
SAYING WE CAN REBUILD THE
STRUCTURE OF THE WAY BUSINESS IS
DONE BETTER.
SO NOW YOU'VE GOT BITCOIN WHICH
IS KIND OF THE FIRST DIGITAL
WEB 3.0.
OVER TIME WE WILL REBUILD THE
WAY THE INTERNET WORKS.
JOHN: DOES IT STAY A DIGITAL
STORE VALUE OR DOES IT BECOME A
FIAT CURRENCY?
>> I THINK IT STAYS A DIGITAL
STORE VALUE.
CURRENCIES NEED TO HAVE
STABILITY.
BITCOIN HAS MOVED 60% THIS YEAR.
YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BUY THAT
SUIT MONDAY AND A DAY LATER SAY
IT'S A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE.
YOU REALLY NEED STABILITY.
YOU LOOK AT CURRENCIES, FIXED
SUPPLY CURRENCIES NEVER WORK.
KEEPS GOING UP.
I LIKE TO THINK OF IT LIKE GOLD.
GOLD HAS AN $8 TRILLION MARKET
CAP.
BITCOIN HAS ABOUT $120 BILLION
MARKET CAP.
HAS ADOPTION COME AS ALL THE
YOUNG PEOPLE GET OLDER AND SAY
DIGITAL STORE VALUE MAKES A LOT
MORE SENSE THAN CLUNKY OLD GOLD
THAT SITS IN A SAFE.
JOHN: SO FAR, CRYPTO CURRENCY'S
BEEN A RETAIL STORY.
YOU SAID THE INSTITUTIONAL
INVESTOR IS COMING WHICH IS A
VERY BULLISH ARGUMENT.
WHEN DOES THAT MANIFEST ITFL
WHEN DOES THAT MANIFEST ITSE
WHEN DOES THAT MANIFEST ITSELF
WHEN DOES THAT MANIFEST ITSELF?
>> THERE ARE FOUR BIG BUCKETS.
ONE IS CUSTODY.
YOU ALREADY HAD BACK TWITCHES,
SUBSIDIARY OF I.C.E., NEW YORK
STOCK EXCHANGE.
JEFF SPRECKER AND HIS TEAM ARE
PUTTING OUT A CRYPTO CURRENCY
SOLUTION, IT'S AN INDEX --
SORRY, AN EXCHANGE,
CLEARINGHOUSE AND CUSTODY
SOLUTION.
BUT I'M HEARING IT'S CLOSE.
LOSTS
LOST
LOTS OF CUSTODY SOLUTIONS ARE
COMING.
I BET BY YEAR END,
INSTITUTIONALS WILL HAVE NOT
JUST ONE BUT TWO OR THREE GOOD
CUSTODY SOLUTIONS THEY HAVE
HEARD OF.
TWO INDEXES, WE CAME OUT WITH
THE BLOOMBERG GALAXY CRYPTO
INDEX.
THERE ARE A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT
INDEXES PEOPLE CAN BENCHMARK.
THREE IS KIND OF INSTITUTIONAL
PLAYERS.
THE PRICE WATERHOUSES, THE BANK
OF NEW YORKS, THE PLAYERS,
CUSTODY AND CASH THAT ARE PART
OF THE ECOSYSTEM THAT ARE
GETTING INTO THE SPACE.
I WOULD BET BY THE END OF THE
YEAR, THAT FRAMEWORK IS THERE.
WE ARE ALREADY SEEING
INSTITUTIONS LIKE ENDOWMENTS AND
PENSION FUNDS MAKE BETS, THEY
ARE MAKING BETS IN VENTURE
FUNDS.
THERE WAS A BIG VERY INFLUENTIAL
ENDOWMENT THAT MADE A BET IN A
JOHN: IT SHOWS HOW SMART YOU ARE
AND YOU MADE A LOT OF MONEY OFF
OF IT.
WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WITH THE
MONEY SHOWS WHAT A GOOD PERSON
YOU ARE.
2005 YOU STARTED UP A PROGRAM,
BEAT THE STREETS.
I HAVE BEEN TO VISIT, IT'S ONE
OF THE BEST I HAVE SEEN IN THE
WORLD AND I HAVE BEEN TO A LOT
OF PROGRAMS THAT DEAL WITH
AT-RISK YOUTH.
BECAUSE OF THE PROGRAM YOU
STARTED UP, YOU NOW HAVE 150
SCHOOLS, 3200 KIDS IN NEW YORK
CITY THAT WOULDN'T HAVE HAD
OPPORTUNITY BUT BECAUSE OF WHAT
YOU FOUNDED AND YOUR WONDERFUL
HAVE 11 PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN
SPIN-OFFS FROM BEAT THE STREETS.
6,000 KIDS NATIONALLY RIGHT NOW
ARE PART OF THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE
OF WHAT YOU DID IN 2005.
TELL ME ABOUT IT.
>> SO LISTEN, I WAS A WRESTLER.
WRESTLING'S A SPORT THAT TEACHES
YOU TO BE TOUGH AND OFTEN OUT OF
TOUGHNESS COMES LEADERSHIP AND
DISCIPLINE.
SO WE THOUGHT IF WE COULD TAKE
INNER CITY KIDS AND GIVE THEM
THE TRAINING, THE EDUCATION THAT
WRESTLERS GET, I THOUGHT BACK TO
THE AGE OF SPARTANS.
YOU GO THROUGH SPARTAN TRAINING
AND COME OUT TOUGH.
WE WANTED TO TEACH KIDS NOT TO
BE AFRAID TO DO THE RIGHT THING
WHEN THEY SEE RIGHT AND WRONG.
IT'S HARD TO DO SO WE SET UP
THIS PROGRAM TO FUND COACHES AND
REALLY, IT'S THE COACHES THAT
ARE THE AGENTS OF CHANGE.
SO IT WASN'T JUST ME.
THERE'S AN ARMY OF PEOPLE THAT
ARE INVOLVED.
IT WAS MY MONEY MOSTLY TO START
AND PEOPLE THAT HAVE JOINED THE
TEAM.
BUT IT REALLY IS CAN WE USE THIS
SPORT TO TEACH KIDS LIFE LESSONS
AND TOUGHEN THEM UP.
AND IT WORKS.
JOHN: YOU ARE ALSO NOW THE
CHAIRMAN OF A COMPANY WITH A
WHOLE CADRE OF SPORTS.
ARE YOU NOT ONLY USING SPORTS
BUT HELPING KIDS GET OUT OF A
BAD SITUATION BY SPORTS.
I WAS AT YOUR EVENT AT THE
SOUTHSIDE SEAPORT.
YOU HAD OLYMPIC VERSUS WORLD
CHAMPIONS, TONS OF MONEY BEING
RAISED.
THREE WAYS.
THEY CAN DONATE OR VOLUNTEER
THEIR TIME OR LITERALLY COME OUT
AND HELP MENTOR A KID.
PROXIMITY CHANGES EVERYTHING.
GO SPEND TIME IN SOME OF THESE
SCHOOLS LIKE WAIT A MINUTE,
THESE KIDS HAVE SUCH A
DISADVANTAGE.
I HAVE A DAUGHTER WHO IS
TEACHING NOW IN THE SOUTH SIDE
OF CHICAGO AND THE E-MAILS SHE
SENDS HOME EVERY NIGHT ABOUT THE
KIDS THAT SHE'S TEACHING AND THE
DISADVANTAGES THEY HAVE VERSUS,
YOU KNOW, PRIVILEGED KIDS LIKE
OURS, SHOCKS YOU.
SHE WAS DOING A GO FUND ME
YESTERDAY TO RAISE $10,000
BECAUSE THE SCHOOL DOESN'T HAVE
SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
SO IT'S JUST GETTING INVOLVED AT
A GRASSROOTS LEVEL.
JOHN: IT'S ABSOLUTELY
INCREDIBLE, LIFE-CHANGING WORK
YOU ARE DOING.
I'M STILL BLOWN AWAY BY WHAT YOU
HAVE DONE, BY SEEING YOUR
PROGRAM.
YOU ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR
GETTING WRESTLING BACK INTO THE
OLYMPICS, CORRECT?
>> I WAS PART OF THE TEAM.
IT WAS A BIG TEAM THAT GOT
WRESTLING BACK INTO THE
OLYMPICS.
I HAPPENED TO BE ON TV WHEN THAT
STORY BROKE, SO I WAS THE FIRST