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Hedge fund manager Scaramucci says the GameStop saga is 'more proof' that Bitcoin will work

Shalini Nagarajan   

Hedge fund manager Scaramucci says the GameStop saga is 'more proof' that Bitcoin will work
Stock Market2 min read
  • Anthony Scaramucci says the recent GameStop saga highlights a positive backdrop for Bitcoin.
  • "The activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that Bitcoin is going to work," he told Bloomberg.
  • Scaramucci's SkyBridge has exposure to Bitcoin of about $385 million.

The SkyBridge Capital cofounder Anthony Scaramucci argues that retail traders' victory against short-sellers in the GameStop battle is a positive for Bitcoin.

Scaramucci told Bloomberg in an interview that the impact of small retail trading groups showed the power of decentralized finance - the very concept that underpins Bitcoin.

Money management, once perceived as limited to a concentrated group of highly paid advisors, is being democratized through smartphones and low-cost online trading, Scaramucci said.

"The activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that Bitcoin is going to work," he said. "How are you going to beat that decentralized crowd? That to me is more affirmation about decentralized finance."

Reddit traders have feasted on GameStop's rapid rise in price after their online posts urged others to join the trade, which has driven up the value of the video game retailer's shares by about 600% in just 10 trading days. That caused short-sellers to lose a record $5 billion betting against the stock this year, according to data from S3 Partners.

Barron's reported that a US securities regulator suggested there was something "systematically wrong" with the options trading surrounding GameStop's stock.

"It's the age of the micro investor and you better take it seriously - otherwise you'll get taken to the cleaners," Scaramucci said.

Read more: The CEO of the world's biggest asset manager warns that companies will 'suffer' if they don't cut carbon emissions. Read excerpts from his letter to CEOs.

Scaramucci's SkyBridge has an exposure to Bitcoin of about $385 million, according to Bloomberg. The firm's Bitcoin-focused fund, SkyBridge Bitcoin Fund, now has about $60 million, he said.

Bitcoin was the world's best performing asset last year, with a 300% rally. Returns on the digital token outperformed gold by more than 10 times.

Aiding its impressive rally were rising concerns about inflation in an age of unprecedented monetary and fiscal experimentation as well as a significant reduction in supply of new bitcoins.

The price of a single bitcoin is about $10,000 lower than its record high above $41,000 at the start of the month. It was trading at $31,031 on Wednesday as of 9:20 a.m. GMT, or 4:20 a.m. ET, down about 4% on the day on the Coinbase exchange.

Read more: MORGAN STANLEY: Buy these 9 sports-betting stocks ahead of the industry's expected legalization in 12 states this year and its growth to $10 billion in 2025

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