Fundstrat Co-Founder Tom Lee: US Fed Rate Cuts Are Helping Bitcoin

Published at: July 31, 2019

Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee believes that recent interest rate cuts in the United States by the Federal Reserve are a boon for Bitcoin (BTC).  

Lee remarked on how the rate cuts positively impact Bitcoin investment in an interview with Fox Business on July 31, saying:

“Bitcoin’s becoming increasingly a macrohedge for investors against things that could go wrong. Rate cuts are adding liquidity. Liquidity is pushing money into all these risk assets and also hedges, which is helping Bitcoin.”

Lee delivered a couple more general remarks about Bitcoin, which climbed back above the $10,000 mark earlier today. In terms of price, Lee thinks it is plausible for the coin to retake its all-time high by the end of the year. He remarked:

“We don’t have a target for Bitcoin, but the prior high was $20,000. I think there’s a good possibility that Bitcoin reattains that high this year.”

Lee also commented briefly on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s stated concerns about Facebook’s proposed Libra stablecoin. Powell said in a recent hearing before the House Financial Services Committee that Libra, “poses serious concerns regarding privacy, money laundering, consumer protection, and financial stability.” Lee told Fox that he does not think those worries are applicable to Bitcoin:

“Libra is quite different in its architecture from Bitcoin, so I think that some of his comments are fair about Libra, but they don’t actually apply to Bitcoin.”

Bitcoin as a hedge investment

Similar to Tom Lee’s remarks about Bitcoin being increasingly a macrohedge investment, the CEO of VC firm Social Capital, Chamath Palihapitiya, recently went so far as to call it the single best hedge against the traditional financial system. Palihapitiya said in a CNBC Squawk Box interview on July 9:

“It is the single best hedge against the traditional financial infrastructure. Whether you support fiscal and monetary policy or not, it doesn’t matter: this is the shmuck insurance under your mattress.”

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Bitcoin
United States
Investments
Tom Lee
Federal Reserve
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