Bitcoin’s bull case was on full display in Miami this weekend.
A 12,000-person conference billed as the largest bitcoin-themed event in history highlighted the excitement and enthusiasm swirling around the cryptocurrency, Osprey Funds founder and CEO Greg King told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” on Monday.
King, whose firm runs the Osprey Bitcoin Trust (OBTC), said that despite verbal attacks on the Federal Reserve and Elon Musk, the mood at the conference was largely positive.
“It feels a lot like 2017 felt, but with a broader base,” King said. “It’s taking the movement forward from where it’s been over the last 12 years.”
King said mentions of the digital currency’s recent sell-offs were “muted.” Instead, bitcoin fans focused on longer-term developments, including El Salvador’s president saying he would seriously consider making bitcoin legal tender — “a huge, huge indicator of acceptance,” King said.
El Salvador has used the U.S. dollar as legal tender since 2001.
Though El Salvador’s move would be a first, it likely won’t stop there, Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein said in the same “ETF Edge” interview.
“As we think about nation states and central banks exploring digital currencies, we’re not surprised to see places that have historically relied on the dollar or folks who have experienced hyperinflation exploring the potential merits of digital currency,” Sonnenshein said.
“We would not be surprised to see states and central banks beginning to think about adding bitcoin and other crypto to their balance sheet.”
Grayscale runs the biggest publicly traded bitcoin fund in the world, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
Bitcoin fell 10% in Tuesday trading to just above $32,828 after U.S. authorities seized part of a ransom paid in the cryptocurrency to the hackers responsible for the Colonial Pipeline disruption.
