United

Bitcoin

April

Dan Morehead, founder and managing partner of Pantera Capital — the first cryptocurrency fund in the United States — once told a skeptical investor that buying Bitcoin was like buying gold during the Iron Age.&nbsp;
His fund is now up over 130,000% from its initial investment, Morehead said in a Nov. 26 blog post.&nbsp;
“I was discussing bitcoin with an investor yesterday and he replied somewhat dismissively ‘It’s just like buying gold,’ No, it’s like buying gold in 1000 B.C,” said Morehead, quoting an investment memo he wrote in August 2013.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img alt="Investments, Pantera Capital" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01937100-faf4-7260-b3d0-4f522c707315" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Morehead’s email attempted to convince investors to buy Bitcoin with him in July 2013. Source: Pantera Capital
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Morehead launched Pantera Bitcoin Fund in July 2013 and has since made a more than 1,000 times lifetime return on its first Bitcoin purchase at $74, he <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://panteracapital.com/blockchain-letter/1000x-pantera-bitcoin-fund/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a>.
He said that 1% of financial wealth hadn’t come across Bitcoin at that time, and when more did, Bitcoin would either go to zero or go up by orders of magnitude.
Morehead doesn’t think it’s possible for Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) to go to zero now.&nbsp;
Bitcoin has reached “escape velocity” with 300 million people globally owning it, Morehead <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKbUw6qQXvM" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">told</a> CNBC’s Squawk Box on Nov. 27.
<figure>
 <img alt="Investments, Pantera Capital" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01937100-8170-7e47-a386-b748951404b5" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Change in value of the Pantera Bitcoin Fund since its first purchase in July 2013. Source: Pantera Capital
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Morehead said about 5% of financial wealth is now exposed to Bitcoin — but that number is bound to rise with more regulatory clarity in the United States, leading to faster institutionalization of Bitcoin.
BlackRock and Fidelity with <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/articles/bitcoin-etfs-a-beginners-guide-to-exchange-traded-funds" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds</a> have kickstarted this “massive transformation,” said Morehead, who predicted that Bitcoin may eventually become a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-market-cap-surpass-gold-anthony-scaramucci" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">$15 trillion asset.</a>
That would take Bitcoin’s price to around $740,000 — a 667% increase from current prices. Morehead said it may get there <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-prediction-next-halving-2028" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">by April 2028.</a>
<blockquote>
 “I just can’t help thinking that we still have many more years of very compelling returns.”
</blockquote>
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-down-jim-cramer-says-to-add-to-portfolio" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bitcoin down as Jim Cramer says crypto ‘deserve a spot’ in portfolio</a>
Still, Morehead recalled Bitcoin crashing 87% in December 2013 — six months after the firm’s first purchase.
Around that time, Morehead said he “flew all around the world” to do 170 meetings — only to scrap a combined $1 million worth of investments.
Interestingly, Bitcoin was used to pay for Pantera’s hotel stays from <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/confirmed-travel-booking-giant-expedia-has-quietly-removed-bitcoin-payment-option" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">online booking platform Expedia</a> — one of its early corporate adopters.
During 59 nights on the road, the firm spent 88 Bitcoin, worth over $8.6 million at current prices.
<blockquote>
 “We coulda bought two hotels [with that money]!”
</blockquote>
Bitcoin is <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-determines-the-bitcoin-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">currently trading</a> at $95,135, up 2.7% over the last 24 hours.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/blockchain-gaming-success-adoption-web3/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Off The Grid’s success shows ‘invisible’ blockchain is the winning play</a>

Buying Bitcoin in 2013 was like buying ‘gold in 1,000 BC’ — Pantera CEO

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Nov 28, 2024

Froehlich Discusses RAK DAO’s Vision Behind the DARe Framework for DAOs

SHIB in Top 5: Will Shiba Inu Price Hit New ATH?

This Worldcoin Price Chart Reveals 1,000% Spike Incoming for WLD: States Entry and Invalidation P...

130,000% Gains: Is Bitcoin the Opportunity of a Lifetime?

Ethereum Continues to Strengthen Despite Bitcoin’s Decline

HyperFND Unveils HYPE Token Genesis, 1B Tokens to be Minted

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!