RealVision
- Billionaire Mark Cuban discussed the stock-market bubble, Wall Street Bets, and Bitcoin.
- The “Shark Tank” star also highlighted the power of AI, digital assets, and stimulus checks.
- Cuban compared the blockchain industry to the early days of the internet.
- Visit Business insider’s homepage for more stories.
Tech billionaire Mark Cuban blamed the Federal Reserve for driving up asset prices, suggested retail investors are out for revenge, and delved into Bitcoin’s value in a RealVision interview released this week.
The “Shark Tank” investor and Dallas Mavericks owner also explained why Amazon and Netflix are his biggest holdings, pitched ownership of digital goods as a remedy for inequality, and called for more government stimulus.
Here are Cuban’s 14 best quotes from the discussion, lightly edited and condensed for clarity:
1. “This is a Fed-driven bubble more than it is anything else.” – highlighting that interest rates were 4% or 5% during the dot-com bubble so people could save their money and make a risk-free return, whereas near-zero rates today have pushed investors into stocks.
2. “It’s not investing, and it’s almost not even trading, it’s more like revenge. It is the revenge of the nerd. It’s the revenge of the little guy.” – explaining the impetus behind the meme-stock frenzy.
3. "The biggest threat isn't so much the banks. It's liquidity, as we saw with Robinhood, and it's the SEC, who we don't know what they're going to do." - highlighting the barriers to ordinary investors joining forces to disrupt Wall Street.
4. "It's like the early days of the internet. No one really knows what it's going to be. There's a long way to go, and there'll be a lot of companies that don't work. But you're going to get some, oh my god, winners." - on the prospects for the blockchain industry.
5. "Disruptors will win. We just don't know which disruptors, or exactly how they'll win, but they'll win. They always do. I don't see any horse and buggies, I don't see any CD manufacturers doing real well."
6. "Bitcoin is not going to be a currency. It's not going to be a hedge against fiat and printing too many fiat dollars. It is a store of value that is going to increase in value because it's scarce."
7. "Bitcoin is a reserve asset, just like gold is considered a reserve asset. If the world goes to hell in a handbasket, there ain't nobody walking around with a gold bar, because somebody bigger is just going to knock your ass out and take your gold bar. But they're still going to be hungry. If I have a banana, you'll give me your gold bar."
8. "My allocation in crypto has been accumulating over the years, and I've just never sold. I swapped out some for Aave recently. I'm not looking to trade in and out. I'm not a day trader at all, that just takes too much work."
9. "There's a couple of them I bought where I said, 'OK, I'm going to put in $10,000 just for shits and giggles,' but I'm not going to tell you which ones they are, because I don't want to be yelled at." - discussing which cryptocurrencies he owns.
10. "My two biggest holdings are Amazon and Netflix, and they have been for years. And the reason I stay with them is their AI capabilities. If you're not a great AI company, I have no interest in being a big investor."
11. "Break them up, I don't care. It's going to create more shareholder value." - on the dismantling of "big tech" companies due to monopoly concerns.
12. "Until you allow people to accumulate digital assets of any type, you're always going to have haves and have-nots."
13. "If you're able to borrow money for who knows how long at less than 1%, and invest in the American people, and get a return of greater than 1%, traditional investors would tell you that's pretty good." - explaining why the US government should send out more stimulus checks.
14. "I'm not a fan of universal basic income, but I am a fan of sharing what America, Inc creates."