Benzinga - Mark Yusko is incredibly knowledgeable on the history of the internet and the ways that web1 to web2 to web3 have evolved and created investment opportunities.
As the founder and CEO of Morgan Creek Capital Management, Yusko sees opportunities to invest in the new wave of growth.
Bullish On Bitcoin: Yusko has become a well-known voice in the cryptocurrency sector for his bullish take on the future of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and his future price targets that come in the six-figure range.
The price targets from Yusko don’t come from pure speculation, but rather from underlying values of comparing Bitcoin to gold or looking at the upcoming Bitcoin halving and fair value of the leading cryptocurrency.
Yusko believes Bitcoin will replace gold and began buying the cryptocurrency for Morgan Creek in 2018.
“We never sold any of it, we won’t sell any of it for a long time,” Yusko said on a recent episode of “The Raz Report.”
Yusko researched and learned more about Bitcoin before buying, but admits it took a long time to get everyone else on board.
“It took me five years to convince my clients and others that I wasn’t crazy, this magic internet money wasn’t just crazy stuff for drug dealers and terrorists.”
Yusko is a featured speaker at Benzinga's Future of Digital Assets in New York City on Nov. 14. Get your tickets today to hear Yusko discuss the past and future of Bitcoin and the digital ecosystem revolution.
Investment History: Yusko said that he has thrived with a culture of co-investment, allocating funds to some of the world's most brilliant minds. This approach also affords Yusko the chance to collaborate and co-invest with other exceptional thinkers on new deals.
Morgan Creek Digital was founded five years ago, and Yusko calls himself a late-in-life venture capitalist.
The digital arm of Morgan Creek Capital has launched four funds that invest in the digital ecosystem, in what Yusko calls the “ABCDs” of the sector: artificial intelligence, blockchain, chips and data.
The funds have raised around $500 million in five years, with investments in around 30 companies per fund. This includes seed rounds, Series A and follow-on investments in various companies. Yusko said that the investments range in size from $100,000 to $75 million and “everything in between.”
“Our biggest investment now is Bitcoin. We view it as a venture capital investment.”
Related Link: 30 People To Watch In Web3: Mark Yusko
Digital Ecosystem Investment Opportunity: Yusko said that he was an early investor in internet technology, with investments in companies like Yahoo!, eBay and Google.
He noted that investors faced limitations in the avenues available for investing on the internet, being confined to applications rather than the overarching technology.
“In the digital age, this new protocol stack, Bitcoin is I believe the base,” Yusko said.
Yusko said investors can own those protocols.
The investor acknowledged the work done by Tim Berners-Lee in the creation of the internet, developing 9,400 layers of code that are responsible for what we have today.
Berners-Lee is now a professor at MIT and not a rich guy, despite creating the internet, Yusko said.
“He was the one who had the vision, but he couldn’t own that infrastructure layer.”
Yusko said Web2 was even more about applications, and he made money in companies like Alibaba, Amazon and Facebook and acknowledged that Berners-Lee should have made more money with the Web2 evolution.
Investors can own the protocols and the top and middle of the pyramid, Yusko said.
At the top of the pyramid are Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). Yusko said cryptocurrencies like Solana and Avalanche are in the middle of the pyramid, and below that are Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
“There’s dog s*** everywhere, no use, no meaning.”
Yusko said the cryptocurrencies at the bottom of the pyramid or below will eventually go to zero.
What’s Next: Yusko highlighted a Bitcoin halving that will likely happen in the next nine months that could increase the fair value of the leading cryptocurrency and lead to more interest.
A price target of $100,000 to $150,000 is Yusko’s target for the middle of 2024.
While Yusko doesn’t see Bitcoin hitting $1 million in the next two to five years, he says it’s feasible down the road.
Read Next: Exclusive: Why Does Cathie Wood Think Bitcoin Is Going To $1 Million?
Mark Yusko is a featured speaker at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 14, 2023 in New York City. Get your tickets today to hear exclusively from Yusko at the event.
Watch the full Raz Report interview below.
Photo: Benzinga
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