Billionaire Carl Icahn Explores Crypto Investment of Up to $1.5 Billion
Legendary American businessman Carl Icahn has apparently changed his position on cryptocurrencies. In an interview for Bloomberg Markets’, Icahn hinted at a potential investment of up to $1.5 billion in the sector.
Thus, Carl Icahn shares the stance of Stanley Druckenmiller, Paul Tudor Jones, and most recently Ray Dalio on this new asset class. Icahn believes the rise of cryptocurrencies is a “natural manifestation” of the current macro-economic outlook and its inflation.
With these economic circumstances, investors are looking for new stores of value outside the United States dollar. Much like Dalio, Icahn fears that the dollar is heading towards depreciation and potentially, it could lose its status as reserve current if the Federal Reserve “keeps printing the money”.
Carl Icahn claimed he is “not an investor yet” but disagrees with the critics of these assets and finds as much value in a cryptocurrency as in the U.S. dollar. He said: “The only value of the dollar really is because you can use it to pay taxes”.
Carl Icahn: Bitcoin and Ethereum Are Here To Stay
When asked about the specific use cases between Bitcoin, “commonly” perceived as the store of value, and Ethereum, the ecosystem for decentralized applications, Carl Icahn seemed well informed.
The legendary investor was able to provide a unique point of view, often not heard from someone in traditional finances. He said:
Ethereum is the underlying blockchain. So, Ethereum has two things you can use it as a payment system you can use the store of value. So, you need Ethereum, the blockchain, to assure you that you have something. You never had that before where you can buy a cryptocurrency and you can say, “I’m safe” because you have the blockchain makes it very safe for you. I’m oversimplifying.
Icahn believes that this is what provides cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, with “great value”. However, he added that the main two cryptocurrencies are “different”. While Bitcoin is “just a store of value”, Ethereum is “sort of a value-added company”.
Although he pointed out that calling it a company was not accurate. When asked if he was looking to invest specifically in any of these two cryptocurrencies, he replied: “I’m looking at the whole business and how I might get involved in it in a relatively big way”.
Later, Carl Icahn said that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and clarified that going into a business in a “Big way” could lead to an investment of $1 billion, $1.5 billion, or more. He seemed more bullish on Ethereum and, as a final thought, said that it is unlikely that all cryptocurrencies will survive.
This has led many to speculate on the possibility that Icahn might already be a crypto investor. Anonymous analyst MacroScope said the following on this possibility:
Two things based on decades of watching Icahn:
You will hear more when he has a full position…a lot more (and very loudly), and that position will indeed be a full one. Don’t underestimate the impact this has on legacy PMs/traders esp in NYC, where Icahn is worshipped.
Ethereum trades at $2,799 with 11.8% profit in the weekly chart and a 4.8% profit in the daily chart. The monthly chart has a 10.6% profit and appears to have enough conviction to try a push towards the $3,000 mark. A successful advance towards this area could determine the fate of ETH’s price action in the short term.