Learning The “Secrets” of
In a recent Grayscale investor call on Feb. 12, Barry Silbert, the CEO and founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Grayscale Investments, shared his optimistic view on Bitcoin. He covered different issues related to digital assets, such as the role of Bitcoin in the transfer of wealth across generations, decentralized finance, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
A federal regulator issues and controls CBDCs, which are digital currencies. 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. At least 10% of central banks are anticipated to issue a CBDC for the general public soon, while China is reportedly about to test its CBDC.
Barry Silbert millionaire, who claims to have bought his first Bitcoin in 2012, three years after the creation of the first block on the Bitcoin blockchain, argued that central banks that develop their own digital currencies might be giving more power to Bitcoin by creating the infrastructure for institutional interest. 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 stated that he was sure that central banks will require users to use and engage with the existing financial systems and will not restrict the supply of the digital currency. “Central banks love to print money,” Silbert said, highlighting Bitcoin’s limited supply feature.
As he leads two major companies that are involved in various aspects of digital assets, Silbert is one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry. Grayscale Investments is the world’s largest digital asset manager, with over $40 billion in assets under management as of Feb. 12. Digital Currency Group is a venture capital firm that invests in various crypto-related projects, such as CoinDesk, Foundry and Genesis Trading.
For a long time, Silbert has been vocal about his bullish views on BTC 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 predicted that most altcoins will experience bankruptcy in the long run, while Bitcoin will continue to dominate the market.
To sum up, Barry Silbert is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry who thinks that central bank digital currencies are beneficial for Bitcoin. He argues 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: Digital Currency Group and Grayscale Investments.