Ken Griffin – founder and CEO of multinational hedge fund Citadel LLC – remains skeptical about bitcoin and its use cases. He believes that another cryptocurrency project such as Ethereum will become the most dominant in the digital asset universe.
Bitcoin could be replaced at the top
Despite its ups and downs throughout the year, bitcoin has more than doubled in value over the past eleven months. Institutional adoption and significant support from prominent investors and entrepreneurs, some of whom often describe it as a great store of value, are among the factors that propelled the asset towards its current heights.
Separately, BTC even became legal tender in El Salvador in September, making its way nationwide.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, and the primary cryptocurrency has its critics. One of them is the CEO of Citadel – Ken Griffin. In a recent interview with DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin, he felt that bitcoin is too bad for the environment, has low transaction speeds, and is vulnerable to fraudulent activity.
Keeping these disadvantages in mind, Ethereum or another cryptocurrency based on its blockchain, which would have a smaller energy footprint and lower transaction costs, will steal BTC’s dominance, he added.
Billionaire investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks – Mark Cuban – also recently spoke in favor of Ethereum and its native token. According to him, beginners in the cryptocurrency industry should select ETH as an investment choice as it has the most upside potential.
Griffin also referred to the rise in inflation and the financial crisis that has started to shake most economies. He doubted that cryptocurrencies could solve those monetary issues, hinting that a digital dollar could be more beneficial in the initiative.
Still, he appears to support blockchain, calling it “a really interesting technology and a powerful way to keep a decentralized ledger in the world.”
Citadel Would Provide Crypto Services if The Industry Gets Regulated
In one of his previous appearances last month, Griffin once again bashed bitcoin and the alternative coins, claiming they could harm the American dollar. He added that it is a “jihadist call” that some put their trust in digital assets instead of the national currency of the United States.
Even though Griffin does not fit as the biggest believer in the merits of cryptocurrencies, his organization would still offer its clients such exposure if there is “regulatory clarity” in the space:
“We don’t trade crypto due to regulatory uncertainty. It will become a far more competitive market when there’s regulatory clarity and that would be good… I would trade it because it would meet the needs of our brokerage partners who want to have a leading pricing business.
