Mark Cuban is best known as the Dallas Mavericks billionaire, a staple for Shark Tank and – in some circles – an occasional commentator on Bitcoin.
“If you watch crypto trading, it’s just like the internet stock bubble. EXACT, ”the Cuban tweeted in January, shortly after BTC jumped over $ 40,000. Many viewed the thread as bearish on Bitcoin or even Bitcoin-hostile.
“As during the dot-com bubble, the experts try to justify whatever the price of the day is. Like gold, crypto is a supply and a demand. All stories about devaluation, fiat etc. are only sales talks. The biggest selling point is scarcity versus demand. “
Well-known Bitcoin skeptic (and gold bug) Peter Schiff dumped gasoline on the fire and replied, “The difference is that some of these early internet stocks actually had real value. So they survived and ultimately thrived. None of the cryptos have any real value, so there are no winners. You will all lose. “
Mark Cuban’s Real Approach to Bitcoin? It can be difficult to pinpoint, and for many, Cubans matter. It has weight. When people like Cubans give BTC an endorsement or a slap, it adds or subtracts the legitimacy in the eyes of the BTC. Non-crypto twitter crowd.
And that’s why Kuban’s Wednesday tweet raised his eyebrows amid the GameStop mania.
Whatever the billionaire fears about the Bitcoin market, he’s all-in on NFTs and other blockchain-based ideas for his Dallas Mavericks. “You can sell anything digital with NFT,” he told CoinDesk, indicating plans to sell a range of digital goods soon.
We know that Cubans bought bitcoin and still own bitcoin, but we also know that he once said, “I’d rather have bananas than bitcoin” because he could “eat bananas – bitcoin, not so much.”
On the other hand, his attitude is more nuanced. Even in his ranty thread “EXACTLY like the internet stock bubble”, he took the time to reply to Schiff and offered a quasi-defense of crypto: “What is a collector’s item, other than in the eye of the buyer? Why should a digital collectible be any different? ”
Cubans always had a nose and a talent for provocation. This is, after all, the same Mark Cuban who once got into a wrong fight with a fake referee as an April Fool’s joke, was beaten with a $ 500,000 fine for a rant on the pitch, and did his own stunts on the set of Sharknado 3, where he played the President of the United States, of course.
These ridicules seem to continue with Bitcoin. Could we have a… President Mark Cuban? In early January, he tweeted that he would run for president if the price of Bitcoin cracks $ 1 million. Specifically: “I will run when BTC reaches USD 1M AND we can get commitments to donate 350 BTC to the Treasury Department each of the 4 years so that we can give every citizen 1 Satoshi each year for 10 years have to hold. How does that sound 🙂 ”
So what’s going on here anyway?
Is Cuban a Bitcoin Skeptic or a Cop?
Is he serious about running for president?
To clear his thoughts on Bitcoin and the entire blockchain space, I exchanged a few emails with the billionaire entrepreneur. He gives some advice on what to do if HODLing, reveals the Mavericks have plans for NFTs, says he sees potential in DeFi, and gives – sorry – to those of you hoping for a cabinet position in the Cuban government he admits that he mostly “screwed” around. ”
Oh, and as for the whole blockchain space? Cubans think “the benefit really is unlimited.”
(Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons)
CoinDesk: To the best of my knowledge, you bought Bitcoin from Coinbase in the early days and you still haven’t sold it. (Congratulations by the way.) Is that correct?
Mark Cuban: I actually got some back then. I bought a few along the way.
How have your thoughts on Bitcoin developed since then?
Cuban: Hasn’t changed a bit. I never thought it was more than a store of value.
You tweeted: “MANY fortunes are made and LOST along the way, and we’re finding out who has the stomach for HODL and who doesn’t. My advice? Find out how you can cover yourself. “Can you unpack exactly what you mean by learning how to cover yourself?
Cuban: Most people can’t handle volatility, whether it’s stocks or crypto. More importantly, as the BTC price rises, so does the pressure. It’s hard to spend $ 35,000 on a single BTC and not get nervous.
What do you mean by pressure
Cuban: The same pressures that come with every investment. What will i do if it goes down? And the “Oh damn, that shit only lost $ 10,000 in 5 hours WTF!” “My wife is going to kill me” or “This is more than I did in 3 months.” That kind of pressure.
Now imagine that you just borrowed $ 100,000 for your house because your friend told you that BTC could climb to $ 100,000 by the end of the year. You borrow, you buy let’s say 3 BTC on Coinbase. But what you didn’t tell your friend is that you can’t afford the payments on this BTC loan. [You think] it only goes up. So you plan to sell a little bit of BTC every month to cash it out. You will receive the confirmation. They are all excited because in the past week the day has gone up $ 3 or more! Then boom. Fuck crater at $ 28,000 and you just lost $ 15,000 in 15 hours. You still have to make this loan payment. And you freaked out.
Cuban: Now some people would say they should have known better. But it’s not that it’s any different from the stock market; the same can happen [with equities]. But that’s why I said it’s like the internet stock boom.
People rushed in thinking it could only rise. That internet stocks wouldn’t go down. Until they did and the people got knocked down. In one minute you’ll be a millionaire on paper, the next minute your home loan will be canceled.
This also applies to professional investors. You’re on the verge because the trend is your boyfriend, and then it’s not. It blows them up. HODLers don’t care. They already have their supplies. But for everyone else who gets involved, volatility is a high level of stress.
If you want to play the game you need to know how to use options, even if they are not that fluid. Even if it’s just about selling some of the volatility with calls to cover some of your drawbacks.
Interesting. Did you do this?
Cuban: I haven’t done that yet, but I’ve definitely researched.
On the same Twitter thread, you also said that “the biggest selling point is the scarcity versus demand.” … That BTC is inherently scarce and people want it. So if more people want it, the price goes up. But is that a bad thing? Isn’t that a function, not a bug? In other words, how is gold different?
Cuban: It’s exactly the same. Nobody really needs gold jewelry. Also, nobody really needs BTC.
Do you think Bitcoin will ever be used for anything outside of an investment vehicle?
Cuban: For sure. If DeFi and BTC can work together so that BTC is effectively a bankless bank account. That creates benefits for BTC. But so many products are being developed right now that it will be the wild west for a while
How about the ETH? It seems like there are many possible use cases, doesn’t it?
Cuban: I like ETH. Obviously, it’s a primary foundation for DeFi, and we’ll see what happens to ETH 2.
Russell Okung of the Carolina Panthers is now paid with Bitcoin. Have Dallas Mavericks expressed interest in Bitcoin compensation? Do you think this will be followed by more athletes in the future? If so, would you be open to it?
Cuban: He’s not actually paid in crypto. He converts his money. It’s not an event, but a fun story.
You famously (and weirdly) said that you would run for president when BTC hits $ 1 million. [Note: Cuban added some additional stipulation, that “we can get commitments to donate 350 BTC to the Treasury each of the 4 yrs so that we can give 1 satoshi to every citizen each yr, that they must hold for 10 years.”] Are you just screwing around or are you serious?
Cuban: I think every American citizen should have a digital account that can be used to store money, stocks, and any digital currency / crypto.
What do you think the chances are that BTC will hit $ 1M? What do you think is the most likely fate of Bitcoin?
Cuban: Depends on how many people and institutions replace gold with BTC and whether DeFi becomes a real banking alternative that everyone can use. The problem is that the whales control the game. There aren’t enough big Bitcoin owners out there. Too much is in too few hands. This creates market liquidity and market maker challenges.
You said that bitcoin is Not a hedge against doomsday scenarios. Can you explain why?
Cuban: Why is it? Just because the narrative is a hedge doesn’t mean it, any more than gold is a hedge against inflation.
Thoughts on the DeFi boom?
Cuban: It has a shot. We have to survive the times of the Wild West, but there is so little friction between transactions and traditional banking. If they escape the fear of KYC and other regulations and let the products take advantage of their benefits, it could transform banking dramatically.
However, I’m not sure if BTC is the beneficiary. It’s too volatile. It’s hard to make a $ 200 deposit and then it’s worth $ 175 in three hours.
Which in turn is due to the efficiency of the markets and exchanges.
If they escape the fear of KYC and other regulations and let the products take advantage of their benefits, it could transform banking dramatically.
In 2018 you said CoinDesk that the Mavericks would accept Bitcoin and Ethereum the following season. What happened to this plan?
Cuban: I wanted to see how many people wanted to use it as currency. Almost nobody did it.
Do you see a future for blockchain in the NBA or for sports in general? Tokenization projects? A MAVS coin?
Cuban: Secure digital goods.
Can you give some possible examples?
Cuban: With NFT you can sell anything digital. We can sell virtual mavs gear, sneakers, art, pictures, videos, experiences and anything we can think of. We want to add virtual jewelry, accessories and clothing that we create to real images on social media. This is a great way to add cool virtual Mavs sneakers to your posts that look just as real as the ones on your feet.
The challenge is to create the market. It’s starting to build some up with sneakers, art, and pictures from special events, but it can and should be a lot more. I just don’t know when it’s going to be a real deal. But this is one area I want to invest in.
Have you learned anything about the blockchain space from your experience with Unkoin Gold’s ICO launch?
Cuban: I wasn’t active in that at all.
What is your hope for Bitcoin and the blockchain space?
Cuban: The benefit is really unlimited. It’s a platform for any number of amazing applications that surpass their traditional financial counterparts.
