Venture capitalist and angel investor Balaji Srinivasan says hyperinflation is happening now. Expecting the price of bitcoin to soon hit $1 million, he is making million-dollar bets that it will happen in 90 days. Srinivasan also advised investors to buy bitcoin, which he believes to be “a hedge against hyperinflation, monetary debasement, bank freezes, and wealth seizure.”
Balaji Srinivasan: Hyperinflation Is Here
Venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan believes that hyperinflation is happening now. Srinivasan is an angel investor, tech founder, and a Wall Street Journal bestselling author. He formerly served as the CTO of crypto exchange Coinbase and was a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16z).
Commenting on a tweet made by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in October 2021 stating that hyperinflation will happen “soon” and will “change everything,” Srinivasan tweeted Friday, “Jack is right.” He emphasized:
Hyperinflation is happening — now.
The angel investor referenced recent government and Federal Reserve bailouts of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The Treasury Department said last Sunday that it will make available up to $25 billion as a backstop for its new Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP). He further pointed out that Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari previously said: “There is an infinite amount of cash at the Federal Reserve.”
Srinivasan explained in December last year that bitcoin is “a hedge against hyperinflation, monetary debasement, bank freezes, and wealth seizure.” He added: “It’s already proven itself in that role, in places like Venezuela, Lebanon, Nigeria.” In comparison, he explained that the largest cryptocurrency “may eventually have a gold-like role” as a hedge against “standard” inflation, but stressed that it “takes decades to show.”
Believing that hyperinflation is already here, Srinivasan also urged investors to buy BTC in his tweet Friday. The venture capitalist wrote:
Buy bitcoin and get your coins off exchanges.
$1M Bitcoin Bets
In addition, Srinivasan took a bet initiated by James Medlock, who announced on Twitter Thursday: “I’ll bet anyone $1 million dollars that the U.S. does not enter hyperinflation.” The former Coinbase CTO responded:
I will take that bet. You buy 1 BTC. I will send $1M USD. This is ~40:1 odds as 1 BTC is worth ~$26k. The term is 90 days. All we need is a mutually agreed custodian who will still be there to settle this in the event of digital dollar devaluation.
In a follow-up tweet, Srinivasan detailed: “I am moving $2M into USDC for the bet. I will do it with Medlock and one other person, sufficient to prove the point … Everyone else should just go buy bitcoin, as it’ll be much cheaper for you than locking one up for 90 days.”
Several people have offered to help Medlock put up the 1 bitcoin for the bet. Medlock subsequently tweeted: “Balajis ready to do this?”
Srinivasan responded: “Yes. Just moving money for the bet. We can do it via smart contract, but for simplicity old-fashioned escrow may work,” Srinivasan replied. “The escrow person would need one BTC address and one ETH address (for the USDC). The assets would sit on chain for 90 days.” He clarified:
If BTC $1M in 90 days after escrow, then you win and get both the 1 BTC and the $1M USDC. If BTC > $1M USD in 90 days after escrow, then I win and get both the 1 BTC and the (now worthless) $1M USDC.
Medlock replied: “Sir, I believe we have ourselves a deal.” The CEO of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), joined the conversation, offering to be the escrow for the bet. At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $27,208.
Do you agree with Balaji Srinivasan that hyperinflation is happening now? And do you think bitcoin’s price will exceed $1 million in 90 days? Let us know in the comments section below.
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