Investor Dan Loeb says he's been exploring cryptocurrencies to bridge the gap between traditional finance and new 'controversial ideas'

• Billionaire Dan Loeb is exploring cryptocurrencies to bridge the gap between them and traditional finance.
• The hedge fund manager called for openly engaging with the idea, while maintaining "healthy skepticism."
• His comments were made in response to a blog post titled "NFTs and a Thousand True Fans."

Dan Loeb, the CEO of New York-based hedge fund Third Point, said he's looking at ways to being intellectually open to cryptocurrencies.

"I've been doing a deep dive into crypto lately," Loeb said in a tweet Monday. "It is a real test of being intellectually open to new and controversial ideas."

Loeb was responding to a blog post by Chris Dixon, a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Dixon's blog presents the case for digital creators to be paid directly by their "true fans" via a decentralized platform, rather than relying on intermediaries that keep most of the revenue for themselves.

"Crypto, and specifically NFTs (non-fungible tokens), can accelerate the trend of creators monetizing directly with their fans," Dixon wrote.

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining mainstream support from top Wall Street players including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Mastercard, Goldman Sachs, Bank of New York Mellon, and bitcoin investor Mike Novogratz. But New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday called crypto tokens high-risk and unstable investments, and urged investors to exercise caution when trading digital assets.

Citigroup published a report on Monday, which was shot down by the Financial Times' Jemima Kelly, that said bitcoin is at a "tipping point" and it could suffer a "speculative implosion" if investors go off the technology. The price of bitcoin fell 1% to $49,095 on Tuesday. It has fallen by almost 20% since hitting a record high above $58,000 just over a week ago.

In his series of tweets, Loeb cited an approach he's using described by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs and novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald as vital to gaining superior intellect - "to maintain two opposed ideas in ones mind and retain the ability to function."

He concluded on a positive note for anyone that is just now taking an interest in cryptocurrencies. "Another conflict to overcome, is the idea that being late to the crypto party will inevitably lead to one taking the 'sucker seat' at a high-stakes poker table, versus this still being early days in what is just now being adopted in the mainstream," he said.