Hedge fund manager Scaramucci says the GameStop saga is 'more proof' that bitcoin will work
REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
- Fund boss Anthony Scaramucci believes the GameStop saga highlights a positive backdrop for bitcoin.
- "The activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that bitcoin is going to work," he told Bloomberg.
- Scaramucci's SkyBridge has an overall exposure to bitcoin of about $385 million.
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SkyBridge Capital co-founder Anthony Scaramucci believes that swathes of retail traders winning the GameStop battle against short-sellers is a positive for bitcoin.
The impact of small retail trading groups shows the power of decentralized finance - the very concept that underpins bitcoin - Scaramucci told Bloomberg in an interview.
Money management, once perceived as limited to a concentrated group of highly paid exclusive advisors, is being democratized through the use of smartphones and low-cost online trading, Scaramucci said.
"The activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that bitcoin is going to work," he said. "How are you going to beat that decentralized crowd? That to me is more affirmation about decentralized finance."
Reddit traders have feasted on GameStop's rapid rise in price after their online posts urged others to join the trade, which has inflated the value of its shares by about 600% in just ten trading days. That led to short-sellers losing a record $5 billion in betting against the stock this year, according to data from S3 Partners. After its skyrocketing rally, Barron's reported a US securities regulator suggesting there is something "systematically wrong" with the options trading surrounding GameStop's stock.
"It's the age of the micro investor and you better take it seriously, otherwise you'll get taken to the cleaners," Scaramucci said.
Scaramucci's SkyBridge has an overall exposure to bitcoin of about $385 million, according to Bloomberg. The firm's bitcoin-focused fund, SkyBridge Bitcoin Fund, now has about $60 million, he said.
Bitcoin was the best performing asset in the world with a 300% rally last year. Returns on the digital token outperformed gold by more than 10 times.
Some landmarks that contributed to its impressive rally include rising concerns about inflation in an age of unprecedented monetary and fiscal experimentation and a significant reduction in new bitcoin supply.
Bitcoin is around $10,000 lower than its record high above $41,000 at the start of the month. It was trading at $31,031 on Wednesday as of 9.20 a.m. GMT, down around 4% on the day on the Coinbase exchange.
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