Mike Novogratz Bets Big on Institutions Driving Bitcoin’s Adoption

Mike Novogratz, the billionaire founder of crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital, recently made comments about what he believes is the role of institutional investors in driving up the adoption of Bitcoin.

Great time at my @contextsummits keynote and fireside chat with @ricedelman at #NationalLINC. And always fun to catch up with @ErikSchatzker on @BloombergTV. Check out Galaxy's new “Bitcoin’s Role in the Modern Portfolio” report for the themes discussed:https://t.co/A8qh5X1FfD

— Michael Novogratz (@novogratz) January 29, 2020

The billionaire made an appearance at the Context Summits event, a two-day networking event that was sponsored by several institution-facing crypto investment firms- Galaxy Digital, Fidelity Digital Assets, TD Ameritrade, Grayscale Investments, and others. There, he pointed out that only about 5 percent of endowments are invested in the top cryptocurrency, for now, adding that pensions have also been rather slow in moving to the Bitcoin space. As he sees it, there is a need for an improvement in infrastructure if Bitcoin is to reach its full potential.

Adoption is Slow, but It Should Ramp Up Soon

Novogratz’s comment echoed the views of “Digital Diversification: Bitcoin’s Role in the Modern Portfolio,” a new report released by his firm. In the report, Galaxy Digital explained that while Bitcoin’s market cap continues to grow, there’s still potential for expansion and to prove itself as a safe haven for investors looking to hedge against global economic uncertainty and the diminishing purchasing power of various national currencies.

“Billions of dollars of infrastructure investments have been made in the last few years to support bitcoin’s robust ecosystem and enable institutional investors to have the tools and opportunity to invest, trade, and instantly transact with billions of dollars in daily liquidity. Progress on this front includes regulated custody, physically settled futures contracts, and regulated options contracts,” the firm explained, while also forecasting an increase in the acceleration of on-ramps and institutional investment infrastructure as Bitcoin becomes a more prominent tool for cross-border transactions and remittances.

Novogratz also spoke on the upcoming merger between Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade, in which the former is expected to purchase TD for about $26 billion. While he didn’t know much about the terms of the deal, he pointed out that the move forced Ameritrade to take a break from Bitcoin trading- a move which, for all intents, could slow their work on bolstering adoption. Regardless, he expressed optimism about the prospects of institutions moving towards Bitcoin trading in the future.

Novogratz Forecasts Big Bitcoin Movement

Novogratz isn’t shy about making predictions about the Bitcoin space. Late last month, the billionaire took to Twitter to share some of his expected outcomes for 2020, with items including the successful impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump and an Academy Award for Tom Hanks.

He also explained that he sees Bitcoin crossing the $12,000 mark this year. Given that Bitcoin already crossed the $9,000 threshold and is barrelling towards the $10,000 comfort zone, it seems that his Bitcoin price prediction could come to pass after all. However, the prospect of institutional investors driving Bitcoin adoption is still to be seen. There’s enough evidence to prove that institutions are interested in Bitcoin, and with the halving coming up, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.