In a recent Grayscale investor call on Feb. 12, Barry Silbert, the CEO and founder of Digital Currency Group (DCG) and Grayscale Investments, shared his optimistic view on Bitcoin. He discussed various topics related to digital assets, such as Bitcoin’s role in the generational shift of wealth, stablecoins, decentralized finance and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
A federal regulator issues and controls CBDCs, which are digital currencies. Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, CBDCs are fiat money in the digital form. So far, no global jurisdiction has launched a CBDC, but many governments have been exploring and developing such projects. At least 10% of central banks are anticipated to issue a CBDC for the general public soon, while China is reportedly about to test its CBDC.
Barry Silbert millionaire, who claims to have bought his first Bitcoin in 2012, three years after the creation of the first block on the Bitcoin blockchain, argued that central banks that develop their own digital currencies might be giving more power to Bitcoin by creating the infrastructure for institutional interest. He thinks that the same infrastructure that is used by the widespread adoption of CBDCs could benefit Bitcoin and other non-central bank cryptocurrencies: “So at one point of the future we might have 80 different CBDCs. And if that happens, it would trigger a tremendous amount of investment in operators of financial systems where essentially every financial institution would then have to be able to safely store and transact CBDCs and, guess what, if they actually build that infrastructure, that same infrastructure could be used for non-central bank digital currencies like Bitcoin.” He also expressed confidence that central banks will require users to use and engage with the existing financial systems and will not limit the supply of the digital currency. “Central banks love to print money,” Silbert noted, pointing out Bitcoin’s limited supply feature.
As he leads two major companies that are involved in various aspects of digital assets, Silbert is one of the most influential figures in the crypto industry. With over $40 billion in assets under management as of Feb. 12, Grayscale Investments is the world’s largest digital asset manager. Various crypto-related projects, such as Foundry, Genesis Trading and CoinDesk, are invested in by Digital Currency Group, which is a venture capital firm.
Silbert has long been vocal about his bullish views on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some projects, such as Ripple (XRP), which he regards as centralized and not genuine cryptocurrencies, have also been criticized by him. He has also projected that most altcoins will go bankrupt in the long run, while Bitcoin will continue to dominate the market.
In conclusion, Barry Silbert is a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency industry who believes that central bank digital currencies are good for Bitcoin. He contends that CBDCs will create the infrastructure for institutional interest in non-central bank cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He also highlights that Bitcoin has a limited supply feature that makes it superior to fiat money. He leads two major companies that are involved in various aspects of digital assets: Grayscale Investments and Digital Currency Group.