Airbnb, Uber Investor Believes “Everybody Should Put Something Into Crypto”

Jeffrey Wernick, an independent investor who claims to have begun purchasing bitcoin as early as 2009, recently advocated that “everybody should put something into crypto.” The investor also criticized the current financial system, describing cryptocurrency investment as sole viable means through which “a typical middle-class person [can] accumulate wealth.”

Also Read: Major Bitcoin ETF Rejected by SEC: One Commissioner Disagrees Publicly

“I Think Everybody Should Put Something Into Crypto” – Jeffrey Wernick

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Jeffrey Wernick, an early investor into Uber and Airbnb, described cryptocurrency investment as the sole means through which ordinary citizens can accumulate capital.

Mr. Wernick stated: “given the fact that the capital markets are overvalued because they’re subsidized by those low-interest rates, that the biggest institutions that have the biggest access to leverage at cost of capital significantly cheaper than anyone else can produce. Then the question is, is what, what for a typical middle-class person-how do they accumulate wealth? And I think their only answer is to put a certain percentage in crypto.”

The investor argued that “There have been some studies that show that now, that if you put 5-10% of your money in crypto that actually on a risk-adjusted basis it improves your total portfolio returns,” adding that through investing in cryptocurrency “you’d be making a statement to the government that says ’what you’re doing is completely unacceptable’.”

“I think over five years, you’re going to accumulate a lot more wealth than you would in any other alternative investment. […] “I think everybody should put something into crypto,” he concluded.

Mr. Wernick Argues Regulatory Uncertainty is Driving Price Volatility

Mr. Wernick also argued that “a lot of the volatility in pricing has to do with uncertainty on government policy towards it,” adding “while the government is trying to mitigate volatility in ordinary capital markets, they’re trying to exacerbate volatility in cryptomarkets”.

The investor described the current cryptocurrency prices as “amazing […] given the fact that it only faces headwinds, no tailwinds. Every government throughout the world is trying to figure out how to stop and kill bitcoin.”

Despite the challenges, Mr. Wernick stated: “Since Bitcoin has been created […] it has outperformed every currency, even with governments hostile to it, and a regulatory regime that’s an uncertain regime.”

Mr. Wernick Criticizes Current Cryptocurrency Culture

Mr. Wernick argues that many “people don’t understand the philosophy” underpinning bitcoin, adding that “the people now in the business were not there in 2009 and 2019.” The investor asserts that “People who have gotten into it now talk more about blockchain than bitcoin because they’re just looking for an alternative model to make money.”

Mr. Wernick describes new investors as “agnostic to the initial philosophical framework that drove people to adopt bitcoin […[ and keep it alive from 2009 through 2013 or ‘14,” stating that “There was a small universe of people that actively worked to keep it alive by continuing to mine and continuing to buy and they were doing it because of the concept that they believed in, and that it’s a people’s money.”

Jeffrey Wernick Predicts Widespread Mainstream Cryptocurrency Adoption in Future

Of the future for cryptocurrencies, Mr. Wernick predicts that “the people who move first will make more money than those that move second, who’ll make more money than those that move third, and eventually, when crypto is broadly adopted, then people [will] start using it as an exchange, and it will no longer be volatile in pricing – it will be stable in pricing.”

Do you agree that everybody hold a portion of their wealth in cryptocurrencies? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

At Bitcoin.com there’s a bunch of free helpful services. For instance, have you seen our Tools page? You can even lookup the exchange rate for a transaction in the past. Or calculate the value of your current holdings. Or create a paper wallet. And much more.