BTCS Inc. is a publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain company that recently surpassed the $1 million milestone in crypto assets under management (AUM). The landmark achievement comes after crypto prices recovered from the mid-March slump (Black Thursday). Reports indicate that Bitcoin-focused crypto hedge funds are outperforming their more-traditional counterparts. BTCS plans to pursue a measured approach to diversifying its current cryptocurrency holdings. BTCS shares are up more than 215% year-to-date.
In an in-depth interview with Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, he shares his perspective on the crypto market and how BTCS is levering its position in the industry. In Mr. Allen’s words, BTCS Inc. (OTCQB: BTCS) is one of the first U.S. publicly traded companies to focus on digital assets and blockchain technologies. The company focusses on three lines of business:
- Building a portfolio of digital assets with a keen focus on highly disruptive verticals
- Actively looking at acquisitions in the blockchain space, and;
- Developing a digital asset data analytics platform aimed at providing crucial information to users, enabling the tracking of multiple digital asset exchanges and wallets to aggregate portfolio holdings into a single platform to view and analyze performance and risk metrics.
This six years old company is driven by its team’s belief in crypto and blockchain technologies and how those could change the world in a profound way. According to Mr. Allen, BTCS’ ultimate goal is to provide the general public investment exposure through their public company.
The last 6 years have indeed been a rough ride, over that time we’ve had exposure in one way or another to almost every aspect of the crypto space, including eCommerce, mining, wallets, payment processing, and ATMs to name a few. Through these experiences and candidly some failures, we’ve really dialed in what we believe to be an exceptional business model for a public crypto-focused company. We have an extremely low burn compared to our public peers and aren’t burdened by all the operational risks of mining or other costly pre-revenue beyond the horizon endeavors.
Charles also commented on the effects of COVID-19 in the industry and how BTCS overcame the difficulties that came with the global pandemic.
The effects of COVID on the world economy are still yet to be seen. We expect continued government bailouts, further devaluing fiat currencies around the world. As such we believe investors will seek scarce assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as a store of value. Over time this should drive more mainstream adoption of certain digital assets likely resulting in substantial price appreciation.
When it comes to investing, people always seem to look for ways to shield their money away from inflation and obtain a profit larger than what any financial institution may offer. As a seasoned investor himself, Charles offered his point of view as to why investing in blockchain and crypto-related companies is a good choice to diversify portfolios. According to BTCS’ CEO, blockchain technology is meant to change the way we do a global transfer of assets, without intermediaries, thereby providing a sustainable solution for almost every industry in existence, lowering fees and improving efficiency and security.
Charles continues by explaining how BTCS offers investors exposure to cryptocurrencies and a secure way to invest in this market. The company offers a business plan that is diversified and should add value beyond what a bank could offer the average Joe.
When asked about the traditional financial system in the U.S. and its well-known troubled relationship with the crypto market, Mr. Allen shared his perspective on the matter saying:
More forward-thinking institutions in the banking sector are embracing it while others are sitting on the sidelines with a more wait and see approach. However, I think everyone is keeping tabs on the tech for fear of being left behind. Overall, I believe the road to transformation will be slow as many larger institutions are deeply engrained with legacy systems or are very risk-averse.
How BTCS Surpassed The $1 Million Milestone
During this interview with Charles, we couldn’t help but ask him how did BTCS surpass this milestone in such a short period of time. According to the CEO, the company raised over $1 million USD which enabled them to drastically increase their Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings. As of August 5, 2020, the fair market value of their digital assets under management increased to over $1.5 million, a 50% increase from the cost basis. In addition, Charles mentions that the company plans on expanding its digital asset portfolio beyond BTC and ETH but is being very cautious at the moment due to economic uncertainty. The plan, as explained by Mr. Allen, is to focus on digital assets in highly disruptive verticals such as cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, IoT, computing, and data storage and at the protocol layer where possible.
Despite the uncertainties of the future, Charles Allen is very bullish on both Bitcoin and Ethereum, especially in the upcoming months as both cryptocurrencies have shown great growth during 2020. Furthermore, BTCS is also studying smaller projects like tokens that could project a great benefit in the future. The digital asset firm is also reportedly developing its own in-house consumer-facing digital asset data analytics platform. With the crypto space still in its infancy, price benchmarks, indices, trading volume, and other important metrics are still being refined.
If you wish to know more about BTCS, visit their website.