Novogratz Says ‘Energized’ Crypto Fans Negate Crackdown Damage

Yueqi Yang, Bloomberg News

Michael Novogratz, founder and chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital LP, during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority Summit in Miami, Florida, US, on Thursday, March 30, 2023. The summit offers an opportunity for expert leaders in topics like climate change, poverty and immigration to meet with potential partners and catalyze projects to move from the research stage to full-developed real-world solutions. Photographer: Marco Bello/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Michael Novogratz, the founder of digital-asset financial services firm Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., said rising prices of cryptocurrencies suggest that an “energized” investor base is negating the negative consequences of a US crackdown of the industry.

“We’re seeing overseas lots of activities and domestic, a government that’s really trying to smash the industry,” Novogratz said at the FII Institute’s PRIORITY summit in Miami Beach on Thursday. “Despite all that, prices are going higher.”

Novogratz said the arrival of institutional money has been slowed down, but he is still bullish because participants in the crypto industry “are energized.”

“Crypto started as the little person’s revolution - they didn’t trust governments,” he said. “You’re picking a fight with a crypto community that loves this technology and believes it almost with religious fervor.”

On Tuesday, Novogratz said during the firm’s earning conference call that seller exhaustion and increasing activities in Asia are driving crypto prices this year. At the summit today, he listed Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong as examples of regions that are pushing for crypto-friendly regimes. Hong Kong late last year unveiled a plan to make itself as a center for digital assets and so-called web3 firms, even though trading of crypto remains banned in mainland China.

Novogratz Sees Crypto Strength as China Lifts ‘Regulatory Boot’

Novogratz had predicted Bitcoin could return to $30,000 by the end of March. The biggest cryptocurrency by market value traded at about $28,000 on Thursday in New York. Bitcoin has jumped about 68% this year, after tumbling 64% in 2022.

Novogratz Sees Crypto Strength as China Lifts ‘Regulatory Boot’