President Nayib Bukele is back at it, noting on Twitter that his country bought 410 Bitcoin for $15 million Friday because “Some guys are selling really cheap.” He continued posting memes on Bitcoin throughout the day Saturday.
“Bukele is in an interesting spot. He’s banked his political career on the rise of Bitcoin, but, beyond that, at every opportunity he embraces the opportunity to buy the dip. Many commentators are talking now about how Bitcoin’s moves are in line with the stock market, so it is fair to think that the recent dip is due to external factors going on across the globe. Bukele certainly thinks so. This kind of public buy is only made when you believe in the long-term potential,” noted Richard Gardner, CEO of Modulus, a US-based developer of ultra-high-performance trading and surveillance technology that powers global equities, derivatives, and digital asset exchanges.
“At the same time, we have politicians taking their paychecks in cryptocurrency, a general preparation for tightening monetary policy, and question marks around the situation brewing in Ukraine. Plus, the Biden Administration is preparing for an executive order focused on cryptocurrency. It is an exciting time to be in the industry,” said Gardner.
“There are lots of people selling right now, but I think, to do that, you have to ignore the institutional money that has embraced digital assets. You have to ignore the technology behind it. You have to believe that CBDCs aren’t going to inspire a broader cross-section of the population to participate in digital assets. Even if things are moving the other way in the short-term, the long-term certainly continues to look bright,” noted Gardner.
Modulus is known throughout the financial technology segment as a leader in the development of ultra-high frequency trading systems and blockchain technologies. Modulus has provided its exchange solution to some of the industry’s most profitable digital asset exchanges, including a well-known multi-billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. Over the past twenty years, the company has built technology for the world’s most notable institutions, with a client list which includes NASA, NASDAQ, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclays, Siemens, Shell, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago.
“Regardless of the market price of Bitcoin, there is tremendous wealth tied up in digital assets, and, right now, the question should be whether those assets are being protected in a competent way,” said Gardner.
Fireblocks, which is among the best known custody providers, found itself embroiled in a lawsuit with StakeHound, which alleges the custody company lost roughly $70MM of Ethereum, after the key vanished. As a result, StakeHound could not access over 38,000 ETH.
“Many don’t give custody a second thought, just as they don’t with traditional assets. However, there’s more to custody than meets the eye. We’re talking about safeguarding billions of dollars worth of digital assets. The market will regain momentum. However, we need custody solutions which lean on experience in cybersecurity and exchange security,” opined Gardner.
