Odds of Jeff Bezos Getting Involved in Creation/Purchase of Cryptocurrency Exchange Before 2020 Listed at +130
- Bitcoin is back in a bull market, recently surpassing $8,000 USD
- Starbucks and Whole Foods will now take Bitcoin as payment
- Bezos is not likely to get fully involved by the end of the calendar year
Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest man, but does he believe in cryptocurrencies? That’s what sportsbooks are asking us with their latest crypto prop. Will Bezos dive in and get involved in the crypto space by the end of the calendar year? Let’s take a closer look.
Odds Jeff Bezos Gets Involved in Creation/Purchase of Cryptocurrency Exchange Before Jan. 1, 2020
| Will Jeff Bezos Get Involved in Creation/Purchase of Cryptocurrency Exchange in 2019? | Odds |
|---|---|
| Yes | +130 |
| No | -180 |
*Odds taken 05/17/19
Bitcoin, Cryptos Back on the Rise
It’s been a rough year for cryptocurrencies, but it appears that they are through their bear market. Remember, Bitcoin reached a peak nearly $20,000 a coin back in December of 2017 but has been in decline since. It tumbled all the way down to $3,456, but now is just over double that.
The question is what is the catalyst? People who were burned in the last bull market are wondering what is pushing this price higher. We’ve actually only had bad news recently as the Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX filed for bankruptcy while the biggest exchange in the world – Binance – was recently hacked.
How big is YOUR cash position? #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/6sldxbpPKK
— Bitcoin 2019 Conference (@bitcoin2019conf) May 16, 2019
Is there actual adoption or investment happening around the world or is this speculation? What seems to be helping is that Consensus 2019 is right around the corner and we’ll see some big names there, like FedEx’s Fred Smith, Fidelity’s Abigail Johnson, Twitter and Square’s Jack Dorsey, and US Presidential hopeful, Andrew Yang.
Does Bezos Believe in Cryptocurrency?
We don’t really know too much about what Jeff Bezos thinks of cryptocurrency. He hasn’t spoken publicly about it. At the same time, we do have some clues. Amazon filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to patent a cryptographic protocol recently. What for? We don’t know.
Bitcoin nightmare as a sell-off wiped $21B off its market cap overnight. Here’s what’s behind the crypto crush. pic.twitter.com/w5SX22hhcW
— CNBC’s Fast Money (@CNBCFastMoney) May 17, 2019
We do know that Whole Foods recently said that they’ll start accepting Bitcoin payments. Whole Foods is owned by Amazon, so that gives us another inclination that they are warming up to crypto. At the same time, they could simply be doing their due diligence to be prepared in case this does become a big thing.
Bitcoin tops $8,000@APompliano makes the case to @kevinolearytv on why he is bullish on Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/irQHUybfC6
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 14, 2019
Don’t Count on it Happening
It looks like Amazon and Whole Foods are easing into cryptocurrencies but it’s unclear if that’s a bullish investment or they’re simply being ready in case it does become a major form of payment. For now, I’d pass on Bezos buying a crypto exchange or creating his own coin. It seems a bit premature.
Pick: No (-180)
For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather.
