CEO of crypto merchant bank Galaxy Digital Michael Novogratz said that vegetarian meat startup Beyond Meat reminds him of cryptocurrencies in 2017. Novogratz delivered his comments in an interview with CNBC published on August 1.

Innovation brings speculation, creating bubbles

During the interview, Novogratz declared that Beyond Meat reminds him of the state of the crypto market in 2017, suggesting that the price is in bubble territory given its parabolic rise this summer.

He further provided an analysis of the phenomena and some grim predictions concerning the stock:

“I think big ideas grab the attention of people, you see. You get great bubbles on big ideas, this is a great bubble, I mean, it’s a ludicrous price, but everyone got sucked in. All the young guys on their Robinhood accounts are buying this, and this is their crypto […] And then reality does set in.”

Novogratz also cited the recent reports that the company’s CEO, Ethan Brown, decided to sell more stocks, which increased the float. He said that, as the float increases, “the lockup comes off and everyone else tries to sell and the price will” react to it.

Beyond Meat soars 250% in a few months

Crunchbase estimates Beyond Meat’s annual revenue to be about $67.3 million, and reports say that the company received $122 million in funding so far. CNBC also reported earlier today that the company’s shares lost 18.6% of their value since last Wednesday, and according to their data currently trades at $178.8 at press time.

CNBC data also show that Beyond Meat stock price peaked at the end of last month at over $239 dollars after trading at $65 in February. This is a 267.69% price in just a span of a few months.

Beyond Meat stock price chart | Source: CNBC