Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz said he sees a bumpy road ahead for equity and crypto investors, although he’s still optimistic there will be an expansion of crypto adoption and its application in the real world.
Novogratz, whose firm provides financial services and investment management in digital assets, referred to Bitcoin (BTC) as a store of value that will remain a “real macro asset.” He spoke at the Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Brokerage Conference on Wednesday.
For crypto and equity markets, Novogratz isn’t banking on a V-shaped recovery. Instead, he predicts a combination of market bottoms, ups-and-downs and sideways movement until a “new narrative emerges” on the macro economic environment and interest rates. The U.S. Federal Reserve increasing interest rates to lower inflation is causing hiccups and unpredictability in economic models, he said, adding that he’s “preparing for kind of a longer battle.”
Of approximately 1,900 crypto-focused hedge funds, Novogratz estimates two-thirds could go out of business.
Even so, Novogratz said he will continue to hire people and isn’t seeing a shortage of talent or excitement in crypto. Galaxy is in a “really good position to build through this downturn,” he said.
“Why I’m still hiring people and optimistic is I see the adoption [of crypto] in real life” and in real applications, Novogratz said. In addition, Galaxy is continuing to sign up more investors.
On the collapse of Terra’s UST stablecoin, Novogratz said the key lesson is to not put all of your eggs in one basket and have proper risk-management protocols. It’s also prudent to take some chips off the table along the way, he said.
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