Here's a big bold statement. The venture capitalist (Union Square Ventures) who put some chunks of change into Tumblr and Twitter (hope he took some profits) also loves the cryptocurrencies (bitcoin) sector. Coinbase, which is a brokerage for digital currencies, is a "household" name for all that follow the digital coin space and Fred Wilson (the VC guy) thinks that Coinbase could be the Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan of bitcoin. Of course if the "real" Goldman decides to get into bitcoin, Coinbase may have some "troubles".
(Bill Taylor/CEO)
Fred Wilson, the venture capitalist known for backing Twitter (twtr, -0.74%) and Tumblr, has made a big bet on blockchain cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin—and he thinks regular investors should buy some too.
Speaking Thursday at a conference hosted by StockTwits, the social network for stock traders, Wilson said the equivalent of a Wall Street bank now exists for the digital currencies, in what is otherwise a Wild West: Coinbase, the Bitcoin and Ethereum brokerage that has recently come under fire for the apparent failure of its investors to disclose their profits to the IRS.
Coinbase was Wilson's very first investment in Bitcoin and now has a reported valuation of more than $400 million. "They're like J.P. Morgan or Goldman Sachs for blockchain," he said at the event, called Stocktoberfest East.
Not only has Wilson's Union Square Ventures backed several blockchain companies, but the VC has also personally bought cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as a bit of Litecoin, representing "some small percentage of my net worth," he said.
“If I were a trader, a stock trader or hedge fund person, I might think of having 5% of my assets in something like this,” Wilson added. “It’s still early days; I don’t think you want to go all in on it, but I think you want to be in it.”'
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