MENU
 

PRE TAX NTA |$3.76

Value as at close of business on 17 January 2024

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz believes bitcoin will hit $US100k

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital. Photo: Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Bloomberg

Bitcoin’s bounce to record highs in recent days is only the beginning of a fresh surge higher for cryptocurrency, says US billionaire Mike Novogratz.

The CEO of Galaxy Digital, which runs a range of crypto-focused businesses and investments, says Donald Trump’s election as president was “the most important thing” to happen to digital assets in years.

Novogratz will present at this week’s Sohn Hearts & Minds conference in Adelaide, and despite publicly supporting Kamala Harris’s campaign, he has already been a beneficiary of Trump’s victory, with his net worth jumping nearly $1bn in just one day last week. Bloomberg estimated his personal fortune rose to $US4.6bn ($6.9bn).

The former Goldman Sachs and Fortress Investment Group partner says bitcoin should rise from current levels near $US75,000 to $US100,000 by the end of the year as the US prepares for a pro-crypto president and regulators.

Novogratz says many of Trump’s inner circle are crypto supporters, including vice president-elect JD Vance.

“I think it’s the most important thing that’s happened to my business, Galaxy, and the cryptocurrency industry in four years,” he says.

“In the US, we have been in purgatory – that place between heaven and hell where you just get stuck.”

Mike Novogratz expects Bitcoin to climb. Picture:Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Bloomberg


US regulators have made life very difficult for crypto companies, Novogratz says.

“Trump’s going to change all that,” he says.

“He ran on a pro-crypto platform, the crypto people were big donors in his campaign, he made pledges and promises, and he’s surrounding himself with crypto people. Tons of his team really like our industry.”

Likely changes to regulations would allow big institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Citibank to own crypto on their balance sheets, and that would draw in much more institutional money, Novogratz says.

“Galaxy was set up to bring in institutional money and we’ve done a pretty damn good job, but we’re 20 yards down the field, maybe 15 yards down the field, only for the real risk-lovers,” he says.

“For the big, big money, it’s all still waiting, so I think that’s the biggest change.

“You have seen bitcoin prices rally 15 per cent, ethereum prices 15-20 per cent. I think it’s going to keep going – we’re through all-time highs. Our stock has had two massive days because people realise that finally the government’s going to put a tailwind behind these people instead of a headwind.”

At the Sohn Hearts & Minds conference, Novogratz will be speaking virtually with Coinbase’s country director John O’Loghlen about the future of digital assets and its opportunities.

Novogratz says it will be “more of a fireside chat as opposed to a classic Sohn presentation where I’m pitching one idea”.

“But the idea I would pitch, that will come through in all my answers, is that this is like the new chapter that’s just starting.

“We’re not at the end of the game – we’re at the beginning of the game.”

As for his tips about the next big things in crypto, he is keeping quiet for now.

“I’m going to save two of those for the conference and will give them to you there,” he says.

“I don’t want to shoot all my bullets.”

Novogratz’s bitcoin prediction – “I think we get to $US100,000 by year-end” – is not as bullish as some crypto-believers who are talking bitcoin values of millions of dollars within five years.

“Bubbles can go crazy,” he says. “Bitcoin can go much, much higher, like $US500,000, a million, if the dollar shits its pants. If our government can’t finally rein in spending and stop these crazy deficits, and people lose faith in the greenback, then it’s hard to put a top on it. It’s not that bitcoin gets stronger, it’s the dollar gets weaker.”

Novogratz says he prays that bitcoin will not climb to $US1m, even though that would supercharge his wealth.

“If bitcoin gets to $US1m it’s because we’ve lost civil society,” he says. “When you lose your currency, which we saw in Venezuela, we saw in Zimbabwe, when you lose your currency you lose civil society, and so it gets really ugly.

“We should all pray for good governance. We’ve just got a new president, we will have a new Treasury secretary, at one point a new Fed governor. Those are the three most important positions in the country right now, and so you hope they make the right decisions and not shitty ones.”

Novogratz’s pre-crypto history involved making and losing billions of dollars through investment banking and hedge funds, and a big-spending billionaire lifestyle.

An article in The New Yorker in 2018 reported that he paid for a Duran Duran concert at a Princeton University reunion, and he claimed cryptocurrencies were the direct result of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis as people lost faith in bankers.

It said he called himself “the Forrest Gump of bitcoin” for being in the right place at the right time as cryptocurrency emerged.

Today, Novogratz sees cryptocurrency and blockchain as vital in the growth of artificial intelligence. “In the future money is going to move between computers, and you’re going to need digital money to move between computers, and that’s what crypto is,” he says.

He did not see crypto’s next leg higher as a repeat of the two speculative booms in the past seven years. “I would say I have an out-of-consensus opinion,” he says. “Both in 2017 and 2021 when we had the two manias, in some ways crypto was the new and hot game in town, and lots of young kids around the world were stuck at home because of Covid.

“They had excess cash because the government gave them cash and they couldn’t spend it on beers and girls. So this kind of frenzy of speculation on the newest coin showed up with a story that was pretty powerful.”

Future growth, Novogratz says, will be in established crypto communities such as bitcoin, ethereum, solana and others.

“It doesn’t mean that new projects won’t get funding, but some of the old projects that have become zombie chains or dogs are not going to draw in as much excitement.”

This year’s Sohn Hearts & Minds conference, at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre on November 15, will explore space, AI, geopolitics, biosciences and investing, and includes stock picks from global investment experts. All profits go to medical research.

This article was originally posted by The Australian here. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You must not copy this work without permission.


Disclaimer: This material has been prepared by The Australian, published on 9 November 2024. HM1 is not responsible for the content of linked websites or content prepared by third party. The inclusion of these links and third-party content does not in any way imply any form of endorsement by HM1 of the products or services provided by persons or organisations who are responsible for the linked websites and third-party content. This information is for general information only and does not consider the objectives, financial situation or needs of any person. Before making an investment decision, you should read the relevant disclosure document (if appropriate) and seek professional advice to determine whether the investment and information is suitable for you.

Recent Posts

Read the latest insights
A curated list of HM1 investor updates, portfolio news and other interesting articles.
Read More
Resources fundies reveal top picks ahead of ‘stellar’ 2025
Some of Australia’s biggest resources funds are gearing up for a bumper start to the new year.
Qiao Ma: finding killer companies, surviving the GFC & why founders win
Qiao Ma, Portfolio Manager of the Munro Partners joins Owen Rask on The Australian Investors Podcast.
10 top fund managers reveal their long-term stock picks
With valuations stretched and geopolitical tensions high, the new year offers plenty of potholes for investors. 
Rikki Bannan – Don’t get caught up in momentum
Conference Fund Manager Rikki Bannan, Executive Director at IFM Investors, joins Equity Mates to discuss her standout 2023 stock pick, Telix, and explore what opportunities lie ahead.
 

Resources fundies reveal top picks ahead of ‘stellar’ 2025

Some of Australia’s biggest resources funds are gearing up for a bumper start to the new year.

Read More
January 6th, 2025
 

Qiao Ma: finding killer companies, surviving the GFC & why founders win

Qiao Ma, Portfolio Manager of the Munro Partners joins Owen Rask on The Australian Investors Podcast.

Read More
January 6th, 2025
 

10 top fund managers reveal their long-term stock picks

With valuations stretched and geopolitical tensions high, the new year offers plenty of potholes for investors. 

Read More
December 28th, 2024
 

Rikki Bannan – Don’t get caught up in momentum

Conference Fund Manager Rikki Bannan, Executive Director at IFM Investors, joins Equity Mates to discuss her standout 2023 stock pick, Telix, and explore what opportunities lie ahead.

Read More
December 19th, 2024
 

Professor Jane Butler: Sparking Hope for Spinal Cord Injuries

In this episode of the Hearts & Minds Podcast, we sit down with Professor Jane Butler to discuss her groundbreaking research into spinal cord injuries.

Read More
December 10th, 2024
 

Nick Griffin – The Nvidia story is not over

Nick Griffin, Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer of Munro Partners joined the Equity Mates podcast in their Summer Series.

Read More
December 9th, 2024
 

HM1 CEO Succession

Hearts and Minds Investments Limited advises that Paul Rayson intends to retire from the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective 19 February 2025.

Read More
December 5th, 2024
 

Trump unifies top investors in decade-long bullish outlook for US

Nick Moakes, CIO of the $72 billion Wellcome Trust, told the conference that too many investors were banking on a return to the ultra-low interest rates that prevailed over the past decade.

Read More
November 20th, 2024
 

These rock-star stock picks could get markets talking next year

Eleven rock stars of international and local funds management took to stage – each tasked with picking and pitching one company whose shares will take off over the next year.

Read More
November 18th, 2024
 

Is anyone brave or stupid enough to bet against America?

Stock pickers have been punished for betting against the US. The choice between consensus and contrarianism on American exceptionalism is now harder than ever.

Read More
November 17th, 2024
 

Sohn: NYSE-listed Estee Lauder’s Northcape Capital pick

Northcape Capital’s Fleur Wright this gives a rare opportunity to buy a high quality company at an attractive price.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn ASX stock pick: Ellerston Capital’s Chris Kourtis backs Perpetual

Chris Kourtis has put his biggest bet on embattled Perpetual – picking one of the most hated stocks on the ASX – that he believes will soon be the ‘cheapest listed asset manager of scale in the universe’.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

AI start-ups a threat to incumbent big companies

Paul Bassat predicts emerging artificial intelligence companies will disrupt sectors and overtake established incumbent companies just as rapidly as the seismic shifts that took place when the internet emerged in the mid-1990s.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Howard Marks and Sohn’s big stars reveal seven rules for investing

Among the stock picks and stunts at the Sohh Hearts & Minds event, Howard Marks and Nick Moakes provided investors with long-term rules for playing markets.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn investors position for bullish but bumpy Trump ride

Australia and the rest of the world must adjust to a new Trump presidency that will deliver an expected bull market but also disruption, with the leader in waiting prepared to “create pain” to get his way.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn stock picker experts name best shares to invest in for year ahead

‍Don’t overlook down and out silver miners, legacy skincare brands ready for a revival and a big financial company suffering from a severe case of shareholder wealth destruction.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Eleven stock tips from Sohn to get you through 2025

“There’s no finer place for the finance festival than in the festival city,” said Matthew Grounds. He, along with fellow Barrenjoey co-executive chairman Guy Fowler and investor Gary Weiss, is one of Sohn’s driving forces.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn Hearts & Minds Investments fund targets $1.5bn valuation

‍Hearts & Minds Investments chair Chris Cuffe is hoping for HM1 to grow to more than $1.5bn in the next five years.

Read More
November 14th, 2024
 

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz believes bitcoin will hit $US100k

Bitcoin’s bounce to record highs in recent days is only the beginning of a fresh surge higher for cryptocurrency, says US billionaire Mike Novogratz.

Read More
November 9th, 2024
 

Why this New York hedge fund manager sees opportunity in European stocks

Influential New York-hedge fund manager Ricky Sandler will turn to Europe for his next stock pick.

Read More
November 6th, 2024
 

Antipodes’ Ross says short-term wealth hinges on US election

The portfolio manager says defensive stocks pose a bigger risk than the magnificent seven for investors that are overexposed to the American sharemarket.

Read More
November 5th, 2024
 

Concentration risk key for investors: Antipodes Partners’ Vihari Ross

The concentration risk in global stock indexes that has built up during the strong rise over the past year must now be a key consideration for global investors, according to Vihari Ross.

Read More
November 5th, 2024
 

The fundie betting big on China – with help from AI

Mr Mehta is sticking to his well-worn strategy: he’s hunting for companies across Asia that aren’t battling intense competition and have management teams focused on costs, cash generation and high payouts to shareholders.

Read More
November 5th, 2024
 

Why this fundie wants you to ‘wince’ at his stock picks

When fund managers come to pitch their favourite stock at the annual Sohn Hearts & Minds conference, there are two ways they can go: they can play it safe, or they can take a risk and shock the room.

 

Read More
October 29th, 2024
 

IFM Investors’ Rikki Bannan backs small cap investments to rebound after mixed performance

IFM Investors executive director Rikki Bannan believes this year could be a good one to invest in some select small cap stocks.

Read More
October 27th, 2024
 

Meet the 2024 Conference Managers

Following a global search, the Conference Fund Manager Selection Committee is pleased to share eleven new managers for 2024. 

Read More
October 22nd, 2024
 

Chris Kourtis is on a winning streak. Here’s his next ASX pick

Chris Kourtis of Ellerston Capital thinks he’s found another winner and thinks it’s the last chance to have a bite at the cherry before the strategy plays out.

Read More
October 21st, 2024
 

Why Ellerston Capital’s Chris Kourtis plans to back a ‘hated’ stock

Chris Kourtis of Ellerston Capital plans to tip one of the “most hated” stocks in Australia when he presents at the 2024 Sohn Hearts & Minds Conference.

Read More
October 21st, 2024
 

Alex Pollak champions rewards of disruptive investment

Alex Pollak’s funds management company Loftus Peak rode the Nvidia wave and he is now looking at more opportunities in disruptive industry stocks.

Read More
October 14th, 2024
 

Buy Hold Sell: 2 Hall of Fame investors analyse each other's best ideas

Hall of Fame alumni Chris Kourtis of Ellerston Capital joins Livewire to analyse high conviction stock picks.

Read More
October 11th, 2024