Key Words: Bitcoin and ether may be better bets than JP Morgan stock on a risk adjusted basis, says Michael Novogratz

United States

Michael Novogratz, chief executive at crypto investment manager Galaxy Digital, said while bitcoin and ether ETHUSD, -0.02% have recently been rangebound with low trading volume, they are still “the two best assets to invest in over two years, three years, six months” on a risk-adjusted basis. 

Bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.68%’s volatility has recently come down, while it is still elevated compared to most other assets. The crypto has rallied over 60% so far this year, but is still down over 60% from its all-time high in November 2021, according to CoinDesk data. 

“You shouldn’t buy as much bitcoin as you do JPMorgan JPM, +1.78% stock but volatility adjusted it’s been a much better bet than JP Morgan,” Novogratz said in an interview Thursday with CNBC Squawk Box. 

Bitcoin’s tight range for the past few months “means you could pierce either side of the range and have a quick move,” Novogratz said. He added that he expected bitcoin to rally once the Federal Reserve starts cutting its key interest rate later this year. 

There have been small new buyers of bitcoin, but not many institutions, Novogratz said. “That’s stopped by a combination of Sam and Gary,” Novogratz said.

He was referring to Sam Bankman-Fried, former chief executive at bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, and Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

After FTX’s collapse resulted in billions of dollars in investors’ losses, U.S. regulators have been doubling down its effort to increase oversight of the crypto industry. 

Novogratz also said we are now in an “AI bubble” and expect it to last a lot longer. “Bubbles always happened around things that fundamentally changed the way we live. They’ve almost happened around the real thing. Just the story is so powerful and people buy way in advance and get caught up in the frenzy.”