A number of entities have called Bitcoin (BTC) a bubble since its inception roughly 12 years ago. Michael Wu, CEO of digital asset financial services outfit Amber Group, thinks otherwise, however.
“I think it’s always like this when people come into a new paradigm shift,” Wu said in a CNBC interview on Thursday, referring to the concept of Bitcoin as a bubble. “People start with doubts, with skepticism — it’s very natural because they will have to take time to understand what’s new there, is it sustainable,” he said, adding:
“In the early stage, that kind of understanding, that kind of skepticism, always comes with a lot of price volatility. However, I don’t think you can call Bitcoin a bubble anymore, because, like I mentioned earlier, you have all these institutions, all these billionaires, multi multi-billion-dollar listed companies, all these, you know, all these newcomers into crypto. They’re buying Bitcoins, they’re buying crypto and there are only 21 million Bitcoins out there.”
References to large mainstream players buying Bitcoin has become much more common in recent months. Microstrategy allocated more than $1 billion to Bitcoin in 2020. MassMutual put $100 million into BTC sometime thereafter, and Square later came in as welwith $50 million.
Rationale for Bitcoin’s long-term price rise includes its limited supply matched with significant interest in the asset, Wu explained. “There will be price volatility, there will be short-term price corrections,” he added. “Sometimes these price corrections can be violent, but I think we’ve passed the stage of calling Bitcoin a bubble anymore.”
Wu also commented on BTC and its store of value role, similar to gold. Bitcoin has seen its fair share of comparisons against gold over the years. “The worst case scenario of Bitcoin is still a better form of gold,” he said.
On Wednesday, Wu’s company Amber Group announced that Annabelle Huang, one of the firm’s partners, had been given the task of furthering institutional and retail involvement. Amber Group “appointed partner, Annabelle Huang, to lead GlobalX Center, a strategic global expansion team established to grow the company’s institutional and retail product offerings in regions including South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, North America and more,” said a statement provided to Cointelegraph.