The founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, Kyle Bass, has warned that governments will start to really clamp down on bitcoin. He predicts that “intense” crypto regulation will roll out of the US Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) next year.
Fund Manager Expects ‘Intense’ Crypto Regulation Next Year
Kyle Bass, founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, talked about bitcoin and the outlook for cryptocurrencies in an interview on the Investor’s Podcast Network, published Saturday. Bass is a hedge fund manager who made winning bets on subprime loans in 2007.
While acknowledging that “Millennials love private crypto” and “people like to think of it as a perfect substitute or a great substitute for gold and / or a protector against inflation,” Bass said:
I tend to think that you’re going to see authoritarian governments and Western democracies alike start to really clamp down on bitcoin.
He referred to China cracking down on crypto activity. “I know China kicked out miners first, then banned private crypto. They did it a year earlier than I expected, ”he said, adding:
I think next year, you’re going to see intense regulation come from the US Treasury and the IRS.
He also discussed “discount rates” and how to protect against “this insidious inflation”.
“I know bitcoin has done well. I know that the returns have literally been off the charts for many, and there are many newly minted billionaires out there in bitcoin land,” he noted. However, he warned: “I think the easy money has been made … I think from here on out, it’s going to be really difficult to make money there.”
Bass also shared, “I have a few private positions in large companies that trade, lend and develop bitcoin and NFTs. [non-fungible tokens] and the entire digital universe of alphabet soups that exist. He concluded, “I think blockchain, I think NFTs, these things are all here to stay. Private crypto, I put a question mark for the long term. I would pay attention to that now.
The investment manager also does not think we are in a bubble. “I don’t believe we’re in a bubble today, as far as ratios are concerned and leverage in the system is a concern,” he said.
