Bitcoin maintained its march higher, setting a fresh record above $99,500 earlier today as investors continued to cheer the return of new crypto friend Donald Trump top the white house. CNBC Africa is joined by Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card for more.
In the studio with us is Chris Maurice, he is CEO of Yellow Card. Now we saw of course Bitcoin maintaining its march higher, setting a fresh record above $99,500 earlier today, depends of course which site you are using as your source. Investors continuing to cheer the return of new crypto friend Donald Trump to the White House. As I said, Chris is here. Chris, thank you for coming. Yes, thank you for having me. I wanted your comment on fund manager who we were just talking to earlier in the program who asked if he was looking at Bitcoin and said, I don't invest in things that I don't understand. Yeah, well, you know, look, this is this is the future. So it's time to understand it. Right. And I think, you know, for anybody that doesn't understand it yet, you know, there's a lot of educational material and everything out there to come to understand it. But at a high level, Bitcoin is digital gold. Right. It's you know, this is the store of value for the Internet age. It's it's easier to maintain. It's easier to access. It's easier to manage than physical gold. Right. There's not the physical risk of somebody stealing it. And it's, you know, been proven that it's a great hedge against all of the volatility and craziness in the world. But not easy to understand. It's you know, look, there are easier things to understand. I will give you that. It's not the easiest thing in the world. But, you know, there are a lot of companies out there trying to make it easier. So let's talk about what we're seeing, the trends that we've seen over the past few months. Donald Trump confirmed back in the White House and have seen this long streak of Bitcoin gains. And many people's question before we talk about the Trump effect has been around this flirting now with a hundred thousand dollar level. When will it be? Do you know? But look, nobody knows. If I knew I'd be a very rich man. But, you know, I think I think, you know, right now it's at, what, ninety nine about as we're as we're having this conversation. And, you know, a hundred K is just one of those, you know, psychological barriers, right? There's a lot of buy pressure. There's a lot of sell pressure. There's shorts. There's there's longs. There's everything going on at that that hundred K number. So it'll get there. And when it does break through that wall, it's you know, there's there's just really no stopping it right now. In the markets, of course, normally we try not to say what is going to happen next, but we try to understand what might happen next. But would you have an idea on when likely that will be? Or is there a possibility that it could fail to crack that hundred thousand dollar level? I think I think that you will see it hit a hundred K probably within the next week. I'm not really in the business of making predictions on the price, but I think you'll see it probably hit the hundred K mark within the next week. And then whether or not it stays above there and is actually able to break through the cell wall is another question. So I've heard a lot of commentary around the suggestion that once it breaks that hundred thousand dollar level, there's going to be a lot of selling because apparently there's a lot of money sitting around that level. Just explain to us what's happening in terms of the buying and selling pressures and the kind of monies that would enable the break and what would enable it to maintain it above hundred thousand or not. Yeah. You know, with any with any asset like this, there's a lot of you know, it's a it's a psychological game, right, to an extent. And so, you know, a hundred K is one of those big, nice round numbers where people say, well, great, when it hits a hundred K, I'm going to sell. Right. Or when it hits a hundred K, I'm going to buy or I'm going to do this or I'm going to do that. And so there's just there is a lot of action going on around that hundred K price point. Right. Which is why we keep seeing the price sort of flirting with it. And it's you know, look, it's a big deal. I mean, this is an asset that's been around for, you know, what, I mean, 15 years now, just about and is now the eighth most valuable asset in the world. Right. It's only behind a couple of big tech companies and gold. And so it's it's it's come a long way. A hundred K is, you know, the next big milestone. But you already have companies like MicroStrategy and others that are, I mean, committed to just buying billions of dollars of this asset regardless of the price. And that's one of the biggest challenges of Bitcoin, isn't it? When will it be fully valued? When will it be undervalued? You know, I think it's it's it's hard to say. Right. I mean, it's I think I think the thing is, is you should think about it. You should think about it in the way that you think about, you know, gold. Right. In that, you know, gold is something that you buy to hedge against risk. Right. To hedge against international risk, to hedge against local risk, currency risk, all of that. It's it's something that for, I mean, you know, generations. Right. With gold for, you know, hundreds of thousands of years has maintained its value in human society. And, you know, Bitcoin is gold for the Internet age. Right. The entire world is moving from this, you know, the physical world that we all know to the Internet and to, you know, the digital world. And now you have digital gold to go along with that. And I think, you know, you're just going to continue to see more demand over time. Right. Yeah. Explain the Trump effect to people perhaps who don't quite understand why the current bull run that we're seeing, I'm going to call it a bull run, is connected to the incoming US president. Yeah. I mean, look, we're up 40 percent since the election. So it's definitely a bull run. Yeah. I mean, you know, look, I think I think for the last few years, you've had an uncertain regulatory environment in the US around around the industry, around, you know, Coinbase and other companies. You can mention it and say you had a hostile regulator. We had a hostile regulator. Who's on the way out. Who is on the way out. And so he's resigning on January 20th. Yeah. SEC chairman. And so, yeah, you know, now, you know, one of Donald Trump's big campaign promises was, you know, we want to encourage this space. Right. We want, you know, Bitcoin to be, you know, made in America and to, you know, the industry to grow in America. And, you know, I think that his administration sees this as sort of the next wave of big tech companies. Right. And in the way that you have, you know, Google and Microsoft and Amazon and all these trillion dollar tech companies that started in the US. The Trump administration wants to make sure that you have that next wave of trillion dollar companies coming from this industry also in the US. And so there's a lot of policies and regulations that are not overly friendly towards the industry that he's promised to repeal and obviously, you know, starting with a change of leadership at the SEC. But I'd imagine there are risks to all of this, isn't it? Let's talk a little bit about them. Yeah. I mean, you look with any asset, there's risks. Right. You know, the price, the price can go up. The price can also go down. Right. And so I think, you know, the most important thing with any of these assets is, you know, having a plan, right, doing research. And, you know, look, I mean, I know there are a lot of people that make money off of day trading and speculation and all of that, but we usually encourage against that. Right. I think, you know, this is an asset that you should look at as a store of value over time. Right. I use this as a savings account. A lot of people that I know use this essentially as a savings account rather than holding your money in a, you know, currency like the dollar or rand or any other currency that is just going to lose value over time. The way you say it, the certainty with which you say it. It happens to every currency. Right. The U.S. prints money. South Africa prints money. Everybody prints money. And so Bitcoin is the only currency that goes the other way. How far can we go? That's the next question, isn't it? How far can we go? So we hit 100,000 and then what? Oh, man. I mean. I have heard some pretty wild focus. I mean, how far can we go? I mean, at some point we're going to stop talking about the price in dollars and start talking about the price in Bitcoin. Right. I mean, so, you know, it's just going to be one Bitcoin is one Bitcoin. Right. Instead of one Bitcoin is $100,000. Right. I mean, so, you know, how far can we go? We can, you know, we can go very far. Right. I just, you know, I don't think I don't think that there's necessarily an end in sight. I think, you know, look, that's not to say that, you know, the price is going to be $200,000 next week. But, you know, I think that this is an asset that over I mean, over the course of its history has proven that there's increasing demand. And I mean, the other important thing, right, to, you know, what we were just talking about with dollar and rand and other, you know, fiat currencies, is with Bitcoin, there's a decreasing supply, whereas with every other currency on earth, there's an increasing supply. Could there be a possibility that a ceiling that's been put on the number of issued Bitcoin, it could be reversed? It would be pretty unlikely. You'd have to get every, you know, you'd have to get a large group of miners all over the world agreeing with each other. How probable is that? Getting those guys to all work together on something like that? Pretty, pretty improbable in my opinion. But quickly, before we go, let's talk a little bit about regulation on the South African side. We've talked about regulation in the US. We've got a president who's pretty friendly. We've got, he's a key money backer, who's also very strongly for it. And we know who we're talking about, the world's richest man. From a South African side, what do we do here now, given the developments in the US? In your view, what would be appropriate? Yeah, you know, I think South Africa has been one of the more forward countries on the, especially in the African context, in terms of the space, right. So there's, you know, a CAS license here, a crypto asset service provider license that, you know, we, along with a number of other companies, have been issued to be able to continue to operate in the industry, in the space, right. So I think, you know, South Africa has shown, and the SARB has shown, you know, a willingness to regulate the space, to, you know, keep people safe, right, make sure you prevent scams, things like that, but also to encourage it and encourage innovation, encourage the job growth, the investment, all of that, that it's bringing. So I think South Africa is doing well. And frankly, I think, you know, more countries around Africa need to sort of adopt the model that South Africa, Botswana and a number of other countries in SADC have adopted. Well, Chris, let's leave it there for today. Thanks very much for coming in. Thank you, sir. Shall we go to the moon? Buy some Bitcoin, baby, it's time.
Theme: Bitcoin's ascent towards $100,000 and the impact of Donald Trump's return on market sentiment
Bitcoin has surged to new heights, inching close to the $100,000 mark as investors continue to celebrate the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The cryptocurrency hit a fresh record above $99,500, fueling excitement and speculation among market participants. Chris Maurice, CEO of Yellow Card, joined CNBC Africa to discuss the ongoing rally and the potential implications for the digital asset. Maurice emphasized that Bitcoin, often referred to as digital gold, serves as a store of value for the internet age, presenting advantages over traditional assets like physical gold. Despite its complexity, Maurice highlighted the educational resources available for individuals looking to understand the intricacies of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency's recent gains have been attributed to the optimistic sentiment surrounding the incoming US president, Donald Trump. His administration's pro-crypto stance and plans to foster innovation in the industry have bolstered confidence among investors. Maurice noted that the uncertainty in the regulatory environment under the previous administration has now shifted, paving the way for a more favorable landscape for digital assets. With Bitcoin flirting with the $100,000 milestone, Maurice refrained from making precise predictions but suggested that reaching this psychological barrier could occur within the coming week. The CEO highlighted the dynamics of buying and selling pressures around this critical price level, emphasizing the psychological factors that influence market behavior. Noting the growing demand for Bitcoin and its diminishing supply, Maurice underscored the asset's potential as a long-term store of value. He compared Bitcoin to gold, highlighting its hedging properties against economic risks and currency devaluation. Regarding the future trajectory of Bitcoin's price, Maurice expressed optimism about its upward potential, envisioning a shift towards valuing Bitcoin in its native form rather than fiat currency. While acknowledging the inherent risks associated with Bitcoin's volatility, Maurice urged investors to adopt a long-term perspective and view the cryptocurrency as a savings account in the digital era. He dismissed concerns about a potential reversal of the capped supply of Bitcoin, emphasizing the improbability of achieving consensus among global miners. On the regulatory front, Maurice commended South Africa's progressive approach to cryptocurrency regulation, citing the issuance of licenses to crypto service providers as a step towards fostering a safe and innovative ecosystem. He encouraged other African countries to follow suit and embrace policies that support the growth of the digital asset industry. As the market buzzes with anticipation over Bitcoin's price surge, Maurice's insights shed light on the evolving landscape of cryptocurrencies and the factors shaping their trajectory. Amidst the excitement, investors are left to ponder the possibilities as Bitcoin reaches new heights, signaling a potential paradigm shift in the world of digital finance.
"Buy some Bitcoin, baby, it's time."
['Bitcoin', 'cryptocurrency', 'Donald Trump', 'digital gold', 'regulation', 'market trends', 'South Africa', 'investment', 'financial news']