Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban says the cryptocurrency market is “exactly” like the dot-com bubble of the late-1990s and early 2000s. His statement seems to signal that digital-asset valuations may implode once investor exuberance runs out.
“Watching the cryptos trade, it’s EXACTLY like the internet stock bubble. EXACTLY,” Cuban tweeted on Monday before offering a silver lining to crypto enthusiasts.
Although the internet bubble didn’t end well for the vast majority of dot-com stocks, several rose from the ashes to form legitimate companies, Cuban said. Amazon, eBay and Priceline immediately came to mind.
In Cuban’s view, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and “a few others” will likely follow a similar trajectory as their value proposition and use cases continue to grow.
Cuban’s seemingly positive outlook on the top two cryptocurrencies came even as he dispelled all the narratives surrounding monetary debasement and fiat currency. These are “just sales pitches,” he said, arguing that crypto valuations are based only on supply and demand.
Cuban hasn’t quite gotten his story straight on Bitcoin. He once argued that bananas are a better medium of exchange than BTC and said the digital asset will act more like a collectible than a financial instrument.
But just last month, he praised Bitcoin’s monetary policy by arguing that public companies should “commit to not issue new shares of stock” ever. He was, of course, referring to Bitcoin’s capped supply of 21 million units hardwired into the code.
Crypto assets were in the spotlight again on Monday after the total market shed over $200 billion peak-to-trough. Zooming out, the total market capitalization has appreciated fourfold over the past year, with Bitcoin recently hitting all-time highs of around $42,000.