Barry Silbert talks about DCG's investment strategy in the field of digital currency

巴里•希尔伯特leads Digital Currency Group, which is an investment company, not an investment fund. Silbert explained: "DCG has the power to invest in companies, acquire companies, and hold capital forever. We are not a fund that needs to return funds to limited partners, but redeploy capital within the company. Our goal is to accelerate the development of a better financial system."

Another benefit of being a company, rather than a fund, is that we can take companies public, Silbert said.

“We do see going public as a path we might take in the future.”

In addition to its wholly owned subsidiaries Greyscale Investments and Genesis Global Trading, as well as its recent acquisition of bitcoin news outlet CoinDesk, DCG has invested in 63 companies in 20 countries to date.

Bitcoin and blockchain

DCG's early investments include Ripple, Coinbase and BitPay. It recently invested in a blockchain company, Skuchain, which uses blockchain technology to optimize the global supply chain. So will DCG's future investments favor blockchain and reduce its investment in Bitcoin?

Hilbert replied firmly:

“No, I am one of the few investors who remains excited about Bitcoin as a currency, and of course we will also focus on blockchain as one of our corporate investments, such as Skuchain.”

He added that some of DCG’s blockchain-focused startups are in non-financial applications, such as identity verification company Onename and, more recently, Civic, the new company founded by former Gyft CEO Vinny Lingham.

“We are excited about blockchain adoption by financial institutions, whether it’s the bitcoin blockchain or not. But our passion is still around bitcoin as a global currency in the future, which is our vision.”

Exchange Strategy

Hilbert said:

“We have invested in many Bitcoin exchanges around the world, such as Unocoin in India, Korbit in South Korea, BitFlyer in Japan, BitPesa in Kenya, BitX in Malaysia, and the list is long and I could go on.”

So far, DCG has invested in 15 Bitcoin exchanges, supporting 40 digital currencies. Why does DCG invest in so many Bitcoin exchanges?

Hilbert explained:

“To become a more efficient, faster and cheaper way to send money around the world, Bitcoin must be accessible anywhere, anytime.”

This is also DCG's effort to support the entire Bitcoin ecosystem.

Consortium blockchain

Recently, Bryce Masters' blockchain company Digital Asset Holdings received investment from financial giants, which has once again set off a blockchain craze. Will DCG be interested in this? Hilbert said:

“I don’t rule out anything, and I don’t deny anyone’s efforts. Our mission is to accelerate the development of a better financial system, which is not limited to the development of the Bitcoin financial system, so we will support the best teams with the best ideas and unique solutions to big problems.”

“But I still doubt the idea of ​​​​the consortium around banks. If you look at the history of innovation on Wall Street and in the financial market, you can find that innovation often comes from outside the system. Like Skuchains, although it cooperates with some traditional financial companies, its solution is to break through from outside the system.”

Silbert said the efforts of R3 and DAH will have a positive impact on the industry as a whole.

“I am glad that the outside world recognizes the value of blockchain technology, but from an innovation perspective, decentralized open protocols such as the Bitcoin blockchain enable ‘permissionless innovation’. ‘Permissionless innovation’ is a term I like to use because anyone can use the Bitcoin blockchain to create their own solutions. If it is a blockchain jointly developed by traditional financial institutions, then the rules will be set by them and they will decide who can access the blockchain. I think this will ultimately slow down the pace of innovation.”

Original article: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/dcgs-barry-silbert-were-excited-by-blockchain-just-excited-about-bitcoin-1540873
By Ian Allison
Translator: printemps
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/dcg-investment)