NYSE Ex-President Backs Bitcoin as a Must-Have on Any Portfolio

In an interview featured on CNBC's Squawk Box, the former head of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Thomas Farley, remarked that several institutions have moved to buy Bitcoin during this bearish run, taking advantage of low prices. Farley, who heads Far Point Acquisition, pointed out institutional investors started circling around Bitcoin after its price fell to a low of $17,000, up from its peak of $60,000. This group, he claims, has allocated between 1% to 3% of their portfolios to Bitcoin.

Bitcoin has to be a component of broad portfolios, says NYSE Ex-President

When asked about the move by these institutional buyers to buy Bitcoin despite its high volatility, the banker described it as “a moment of capitulation.” He explained that the entry of institutional buyers at a low price didn't come as a surprise to him.

“We can see it is a combination of some really smart Bitcoin whales that have been in it for 10 years, and then fairly quickly, some of those institutions stepping in. That's what is happening,” he said.

Regarding volatility, the CEO noted BTC could be up 40%, but that doesn't necessarily mean it would keep rising by the same margin. The Far Corp boss also praised Bitcoin on its merits, noting that it can be trusted and is censorship-resistance. Pointing out its fixed supply of 21 million, Farley advised that Bitcoin ought to be a component and a portfolio of broad portfolios.

The pro-bitcoin CEO acknowledged Ethereum as a special class of cryptocurrency, alongside stablecoins. He, however, considers other cryptocurrencies highly risky, with a potential to either make gains or lose all funds.

El Salvador President attributes tourism spike to Bitcoin adoption

Elsewhere, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele recently attributed the rise in the country's international tourism visits to Bitcoin. Though the country adopted Bitcoin as legal tender during a turbulent period, the move made headlines as the first to accept Bitcoin as currency. Last month, President Bukele shared an update on Twitter noting that El Salvador has increased its BTC reserves by acquiring an additional 80 bitcoins.

Tourist arrivals in the Central American country grew by 6% between January and May, according to the World Tourism Organization. Back in April, the country's Tourism Minister, Morena Valdez, credited a 30% growth in tourism to the adoption of Bitcoin. She also observed that many of the tourists interested in the leading cryptocurrency tended to stay longer in the country Valdez highlighted that before making Bitcoin a legal tender, tourists spent an average of $113 to $150 daily – a figure that has since grown to $200.

Bitcoin developer asks maximalists to argue on the basis of Bitcoin's merits

Matt Corallo, a veteran Bitcoin developer and a founding member of Blockstream, recently hit out at Bitcoin maximalists for calling other crypto projects scams. The engineer at Spiral took to Twitter to criticize a segment of the highly pro-bitcoin community, urging them to defend Bitcoin by showing how it is “great and unique” rather than criticizing altcoins.

Corallo also noted that the high ground taken by Bitcoin maxis could create a “narrative war” with one group perceiving the system they advocate for as being superior, for instance, Bitcoin's PoW over Ethereum's PoS.

Over the past few years, Bitcoin has lost supremacy in market cap, with Ethereum and other top altcoins gaining dominance at its expense. In 2017, Bitcoin constituted a 70% share of the cryptocurrency sector, but this dominance has since shrunk to roughly 41%. Popular Bitcoin maxi Michael Saylor has on several past occasions hailed Bitcoin as the best monetary asset that can be held. In a recent interview, the former CEO of MicroStrategy noted that Bitcoin is sound money for the 21^st century, adding that it will eventually demonetize gold.

To learn more visit our Investing in Bitcoin guide.