Benzinga - Billionaire entrepreneur and renowned investor, Mark Cuban expressed his frustration over the lack of a “killer app” for cryptocurrencies. Known for his role as a “Shark Tank” investor and the owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, Cuban believes that crypto has the potential for much more than just speculation.
What Happened: According to Cuban, crypto is all about creating new applications that can improve and simplify various aspects of our lives.
"Crypto has some problems. Most people, when they think crypto, they think speculation. That’s not what crypto’s really about. Crypto is really about creating new applications that make things better and easier. What crypto is missing is that one application that grandma really wants to use," he said in an interview with WIRED.
However, he highlighted the need for a game-changing application that would attract mainstream adoption, comparing it to the time when Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook went mobile on the iPhone, propelling its success.
"Think back to the iPhone. It came out in 2007, but it wasn’t until the best apps like Instagram and Snapchat and Facebook went mobile, that the App Store and the iPhone really took off. Crypto is still waiting for its Instagram moment."
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Why It Matters: Cuban specifically mentioned NFTs as a potential catalyst for crypto adoption. NFTs are unique digital assets that can represent ownership of a wide range of items, such as art, collectibles, and even tickets. "The NFT market sucks. You know how many other industries have sucked? There was a time after the internet stock market crashed, where Amazon was selling for $5 a share, Microsoft was selling for hundredths of what it sells for right now. I’m not gonna tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, other than to say with NFTs, the best time to buy is when you’re a collector and you love the NFT."
While acknowledging the current shortcomings of the NFT market, Cuban cautioned against buying NFTs solely for speculation purposes. He added, "Don’t buy to speculate. You know what happens to speculators? They get their ass handed to them. Someday you’re gonna turn around and say to yourself, ‘I should have bought those damn NFTs when they were next to nothing.
However, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Cuban in crypto space. In September, he fell victim to a cryptocurrency scam, resulting in a loss of approximately $870,000. Cuban revealed that he was unaware of the movements in his wallet and discovered that he had lost 5 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), which was valued at around $8,175 at the time.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin (CRYTPO: BTC) was trading at $34,333.39 up 1.61% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo by Kathy Hutchins on Shutterstock
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