Mark Cuban compares the hype and doubts around crypto to the internet's early days — and predicts a downturn will highlight the best opportunities in the space
Michael Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times
- Mark Cuban likened crypto to the early internet in terms of its believers and doubters.
- The "Shark Tank" star said a crypto downturn would highlight the best opportunities in the space.
- Cuban also defended NFTs, noting paintings and trading cards also lack practical uses.
Mark Cuban compared cryptocurrencies to the early internet in terms of hype and skepticism, predicted a shake-out in the crypto space, and defended non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a flurry of tweets this week.
"People dismissed the net just like they are crypto," Cuban tweeted, adding that naysayers failed to grasp the revolutionary potential of networked computing.
The "Shark Tank" investor and Dallas Mavericks owner drew a parallel between dot-com fever two decades ago, and crypto fervor today. He said an industry downturn will temper the rampant promotion and speculation, and help decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts, and other genuine opportunities stand out from the crowd.
"The challenge is that we are in the gold rush stage where every one is selling technology and/or Hype over applications," Cuban tweeted. "Bear markets clean that up."
The billionaire investor likened the crypto community's arguments about which tokens and platforms are best to the debates about networks and operating systems in the internet's early days. Eventually, the computing industry settled on defaults, in the form of ethernet and Microsoft Windows.
"The same will happen with Blockchain," Cuban tweeted.
Cuban also touched on the recent crypto sell-off, noting that venture capitalists have pulled back from the space, driving prices lower.
"Crypto has had a rush of investors subsidizing user bases," he tweeted. "Those VCs got crushed and stopped. No incentives, no new users, Crypto go down."
The investor argued in another tweet that, just like in the dot-com era, the greatest value of a new technology lies in applications that solve problems, serve consumers, or boost profits and productivity.
However, Cuban dismissed the idea that NFTs are worthless because they have limited practical use.
"Neither does the Mona Lisa or any piece of art, trading card or others, unless the owner sees something special in it," he tweeted.