It’s totally fair to say that the institutional investors are finally entering the Bitcoin and crypto-asset markets.
Bitcoin has seen a strong rally over the past few weeks and months. In the past month alone, the cryptocurrency has gained 50%. It has become increasingly clear that this rally has been driven by the entrance of so-called “smart money,” or capital from institutional players and billionaires.
It was just revealed that a Mexican billionaire deployed a large portion of his assets into Bitcoin.
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Mexican Billionaire Goes Long on Bitcoin
As first spotted in the community by David Puell, a prominent on-chain Bitcoin analyst, the third-richest man in Mexico just revealed he owns a large amount of Bitcoin. The individual, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, purportedly put 10% of his liquid investment portfolio into the cryptocurrency because he sees it as a hedge against government encroachment:
“Mexico’s third richest man, owner of a media conglomerate, a bank, with the ear of the Mexican President, just disclosed his 10% BTC position, shilling
@saifedean’s “The Bitcoin Standard” in the process. ‘Bitcoin protects the common citizen against government expropriation.'”
Mexico's third richest man, owner of a media conglomerate, a bank, with the ear of the Mexican President, just disclosed his 10% BTC position, shilling @saifedean's "The Bitcoin Standard" in the process.
"Bitcoin protects the common citizen against government expropriation." https://t.co/DEAUcuxFki
— David Puell (@dpuellARK) November 18, 2020
He has a net worth of $13 billion, though it’s unclear what his investment portfolio is like due to the likely illiquidity in some of his assets (equity, real estate, etc.). Though, even assuming that only 10% of his fortune is held in liquid investments, that means he put at least $100 million into Bitcoin. He clarified in another Twitter comment:
“Dan, I love your newsletter (to which I subscribe) Here some clarifications on my post: 10 % of “liquid portfolio” in BTC…not of my net worth! The other 90% is in precious metals miners. For me it’s no “stampede”, started with Grayscale at 800 dlls BTC in 2016. Ricardo S.”
Salinas Pliego is the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, a group of companies with interests in telecommunications, media, financial services, and retail stores.
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Far from the Only Billionaire Buyer
He is far from the only billionaire buyer involved in Bitcoin.
Stanley Druckenmiller last week announced that he has a stake in Bitcoin. He said that the cryptocurrency could perform even better than gold moving forward, referencing the asset’s ability to act as a store hold of wealth due to scarcity and its attraction to millennials and tech-minded individuals.
Druckenmiller is one of the world’s most well-respected asset managers.
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Featured Image from Shutterstock Price tags: xbtusd, btcusd, btcusdt Charts from TradingView.com Mexican Billionaire Reveals He Put 10% of His Portfolio in Bitcoin