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00:00HAIDI: $400 BILLION IN TRADING VOLUME. WHEN YOU LOOK AT COINBASE IT IS VALUED AT $80 BILLION. WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THESE NUMBERS, IS CRYPTO MANIA GETTING OUT OF HAND? OR IS A REFLECTION THAT TRADITIONAL FINANCE IS NOW ESSAY -- PASSEE? > > THERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN LOOK AT IT AND THINK YOU FOR HAVING ME. THERE IS A LOT OF LEVERAGE IN CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKETS. YOU HAVE DAYS LIKE TODAY WHERE MARKETS ARE DOWN 5%. AND SOME CRYPTOCURRENCIES ARE DOWN 10% OR 20%. A LOT OF THAT IS THE UNWINDING OF LEVERAGE. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE OPTIMISTIC TAKE AS THAT, OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE MAJORITY OF GLOBAL REGULATED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, HAS GONE FROM THINKING THEY ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING IN CRYPTO, TO HAVING A MANDATE TO DO SOMETHING IN CRYPTO. MOST HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING YET BUT ARE PLANNING TO AND TESTING THE WATERS. SO THERE IS A REAL CHANCE OF MASSIVE INFLOWS INTO THE SPACE OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, AS THE BIG BANKS, INVESTMENT BANKS, PENSION PLANS, MUTUAL FUNDS, AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS, START TO FIND THEIR WAY INTO THE SPACE. > > YES INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS BUT IT IS STILL RETAIL AT INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS. WE HEARD FROM A GOVERNOR SAYING IF YOU ' RE GOING TO BE INVESTING IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO LOSE ALL OF YOUR MONEY. > > THAT IS TRUE OF ANYTHING. CRYPTOCURRENCY HAS BEEN MORE VOLATILE THAN AVERAGE SODAS A BIT MORE TRUE OF CRYPTO THAN THE AVERAGE ASSET. I THINK IN GENERAL WHEN YOU PUT ON A FINANCIAL POSITION THAT HAS SUBSTANTIAL RISK YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT RISK AND NOT BE USING MORE THAN -- LOSING MORE THAN YOU ' RE PREPARED TO LOSE IF THE MARKET DOES GO DOWN A LOT. I THINK I TECHNICALLY AGREE WITH SOME OF WHAT HE SAID BUT I THINK HE WAS PROBABLY IMPLYING A PRETTY DIRE TONE, ABOUT THE OUTLOOK FOR CRYPTO WHICH I DO NOT SHARE. VONNIE: WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF A SURGEON THESE ALT COINS, DOGE COINS, ETHEREUM, THAT ABOUT CHINA BITCOIN, WHAT DOES -- THAT HAVE OUTSHINED BITCOIN, WHAT DOES THAT SIGNAL? > > IN SOME WAYS MORE INSTITUTIONAL AND SOME LIKELY INSTITUTIONS THAT STUCK UP ON BITCOIN OVER THE LAST YEAR THROUGH ASSET. SOME ARE NOW ROTATING. , ROTATING SOME OF THEIR PORTFOLIO INTO ETHER. THE STORY IS CONFUSING AND THERE ARE A LOT OF FORCES AT PLAY. THE STORY WITH DOGE COIN IS LESS CONFUSING. IT IS THE SAME STORY WE SAW WITH GAMESTOP AND SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SEE WITH TESLA. THERE HAVE BEEN MASSIVE GLOBAL INFLOWS INTO, A DECENT PART RETAIL, FUELED, LIKE INFLOWS INTO GAMESTOP AND TESLA STOCK, IN A DECENT PART BY ELON MUSK, AND A FEW OTHER NOTABLE BACKERS. IT STARTED OUT AS A JOKE, SIMILAR TO SOME OF GAMESTOP, MAYBE. BUT IT VERY MUCH IS NOT ONE NOW. > > RIGHT, SO IT BEGS THE QUESTION IS THERE ANYTHING FUNDAMENTAL BEHIND THESE RALLIES OR IS IT FUNDAMENTAL? -- OR IS IT SPECULATION? > > NOTHING BEYOND THE FACT THAT IT IS A CURRENCY. SO COME ON THE ONE HAND, NO, THERE ' S NOTHING BACKING IT, SO TO SPEAK. ON THE OTHER HAND, WHAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL DRIVER OF VALUE FOR GOLD OR EURO, OR OTHER SORT OF ASSETS THAT HAVE FAIRLY LARGE VALUE THAT WE IMPART TO IT BY OUR COLLECTIVE IMAGINATIONS. THAT IS HOW A LOT OF CURRENCIES WORK. IT IS PARTICULARLY TRUE WITH A LOT OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES. THERE IS NOTHING OUTSIDE OF THE FACT THAT NOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT DOGE COIN. THAT CAN DRIVE VALUE TO THINGS. HASLINDA: YOU GET A SENSE THAT INVESTORS ARE ADOPTING A BROADBRUSH TO CRYPTOCURRENCIES? IF WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE INCREASING INTEREST IN DOGE COIN, WITHOUT POSER THREAT TO IT -- WOULD THAT POSE A THREAT TO BITCOIN, SUPPORTED BY TECHNOLOGY PEOPLE ARE KEEN ON? > > THERE HAS BEEN WORRIES OVER THE YEARS ABOUT THINGS MAKING A RUN ON BITCOIN AND NOTHING HAS MADE A SERIOUS RUN BEFORE. I WOULD BE PRETTY SURPRISED IF DOGE COIN DID. IT HAS GOTTEN BIGGER BUT IT IS NOT CLOSE TO THE POINT WHERE BITCOIN IS. BUT I DO THINK, AND BITCOIN DOES HAVE AN INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE WHERE A LOT OF PEOPLE GIVE IT VALUE, BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST, BECAUSE IT HAS THE MOST ADOPTION. BUT THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CANNOT CHANGE. YOU KNOW, THAT COULD CHANGE. AND ALTHOUGH WE CANNOT AND TO BE CLEAR, DOES COIN IS NOWHERE NEAR -- DOGE COIN IS NOWHERE NEAR DOING THAT NOW BUT IT GOES UP ANOTHER TENEX OR 20 X IN THE STORY STARTS CHANGING A LITTLE BIT. BUT IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN A RETAIL SWELL IS WHAT I WOULD SAY, IN ORDER FOR ANOTHER CURRENCY TO REALLY CHALLENGE BITCOIN, AS THE BIGGEST CRYPTOCURRENCY, YOU CANNOT JUST HAVE RETAIL AND IT. YOU WOULD HAVE TO START TO SEE LARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS POURING TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO IT. HAIDI: DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GOOD OR BAD SIGN WE ARE SEEING MORE OF THESE TOKENS RISE UP IN PARTICULAR. AND DOES THE LARGER SIZE OF THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY NOW REACHING $2 TRILLION MEAN THERE IS PERHAPS GREATER SYSTEMIC RISK IF THESE MARKETS PULLBACK? > > YES, I THINK IS MOSTLY A GOOD TIME FOR CRYPTO. AND THE REASON IS, IT DRAWS CRYPTO CLOSER TO THE FOREFRONT OF FINANCE. AND NOT JUST BITCOIN AS AN ASSET SOME PEOPLE INVESTED THROUGH ALTERNATE MEANS. NOT JUST SOMETHING YOU FIND, AND SOME PEOPLE BUY IT LIKE A GOLD HEDGE. BUT CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN THEMSELVES DON ' T SEE MUCH ADOPTION. THAT WAS ONE PATH BUT I THINK THE THING WE ARE SEEING NOW IS MORE IN-LINE WITH CRYPTO IT SELF AND BLOCKCHAIN ITSELF BECOMING BIG. IN ALL OF ITS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. WITH WHATEVER YOU THINK, FOR THE WORLD, I THINK IT IS PROBABLY GOOD FOR CRYPTO. TO YOUR OTHER POINT, QUIT -- CRYPTO IS NOT AT THE SYSTEMIC POINT FOR GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKETS NOW. BUT IT IS GETTING CLOSER. EACH YEAR IT HAS GOTTEN CLOSER AND FRANKLY YOU NEED TO SEE ANOTHER FACTOR OF 10 GROWTH IN CRYPTO MARKET CAP, FOR IT TO REALLY GET TO THAT LEVEL. BUT, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE SEEN CLOSE TO THAT IN THE LAST YEAR. SO IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE, THAT IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS WE COULD GET TO A POINT, WHERE YOU KNOW, CRYPTO PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC HOUSE. HASLINDA: WE TALKED ABOUT HOW SOME PEOPLE VIEW DOGE POINT IS POINTLESS. WHEN YOU TALK TO SOME OF THE FUNDS THEY SAY IT DOES NOT MATTER BECAUSE AS LONG AS THERE IS VOLATILITY, THEY ARE INTERESTED. WHAT IS THE RISK FROM THAT? > > IT COULD GO TO ZERO, TO BE CLEAR. DOGE COIN, SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT IT, IT IS A VOLATILE ASSET. DOGE POINT WAS -- COIN WAS TRADING AT LESS THAN ONE PENNY AND IT IS NOW AT $.50. ANYTHING YOU INVEST IN DOGE COIN, I THINK HE SHOULD BE PREPARED TO LOSE A SUBSTANTIAL FRACTION OF IT, IF HE GETS WONKY AND THINGS GO DOWN. I CERTAINLY WOULD NOT SUGGESTED AS A SAFE INVESTMENT. I WOULD NOT GENERALLY GIVE INVESTMENT ADVICE. BUT TYPICALLY THAT IS NOT THE PLAY IF YOU ' RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SAFE. A LOT OF PEOPLE LIKE THE VOLATILITY AND IT HAS SHOWN UPSIDE OVER THE PAST YEAR OR SO. WHILE IS NOT SAFE, I WOULD NOT SAY THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT WOULD NOT HAVE VALUE. JUST BECAUSE THERE IS NOT THE DIVIDEND STREAM FOR IT DOES NOT MEAN IT WILL NOT RETAIN THAT VALUE. WE HAVE SEEN THAT AN GOLD IS A GOOD EXAMPLE, RIGHT? GOLD ' S REAL ECONOMIC VALUE DOES NOT COME FROM ITS USE AS A PRECIOUS METAL IN MACHINERY, LIKE MOST OF ITS VALUE COMES AS EFFECTIVELY, A STORE OF WEALTH. THAT IS WHAT THE WORLD IMPART UPON IT. IN THE SAME WAY, THE WORLD HAS SEEMED TO IMPART UPON BITCOIN TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF VALUE. THERE IS NOTHING STOPPING IT FROM HAVING A -- HAPPENING WITH DOGE COIN. HAIDI: IT HAS BEEN UP FROM MENDEZ TWO YEARS FOR YOU AND YOU ARE CELEBRATE YOUR ANNIVERSARY AND WE MENTIONED THE 400 BILLION DOLLARS IN MONTHLY TRADING VOLUMES YOU ARE SEEING ON THE PLATFORM NOW. WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU, IPO PLANS OR EMANATE YOUR THINKING OF? > > WE WOULD BE CRAZY NOT TO BE -- MNA? > > WE WOULD BE CRAZY NOT TO THINK ABOUT THOSE AND NOT TO DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE. THERE IS NOTHING IMMINENT. THE OTHER THING IS, WHILE WE ARE OFTEN HAPPY TO TALK WITH PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS AND WHILE WE HAVE MADE ACQUISITIONS. I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF WE MADE MORE ACQUISITIONS THIS YEAR. THERE IS NOWHERE ON OUR ROADMAP OF US GETTING ACQUIRED, I DO NOT SEE THAT IN THE FUTURE OF THE COMPANY. HAIDI:

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FTX Surges Toward Top of Trading Ranks

FTX, the digital-assets trading platform launched two years ago by Sam Bankman-Fried, said it handled enough volume last month to make it one of the largest crypto exchanges. He speaks with Yvonne Man and Haslinda Amin on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

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