Steve Bannon considers 90% of the ICOs to have been a ‘disaster’, blowing out too many investors as they haven’t been ‘thought through’. He also reiterates that he likes Bitcoin and that cryptocurrencies are the future.
‘90% of ICOs Have Been a Disaster’
Former White House Chief Strategist for President Donald Trump’s administration Stephen K. Bannon sat with CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and discussed cryptocurrencies July 18.
According to Bannon, 90 percent of the Initial Coin Offerings have been a “disaster”.
“I think 90 percent of the ICOs have been a disaster,” he said. “Too many investors, I think, have been blown out by things which have not been thought through.”
While it’s true that a large number of ICOs have turned out to be scams, Bannon’s 90 percent is a bit off.
A recent study showed that around 20 percent of the projects have turned out to be a scam while many have offered huge returns. For instance, putting some money into every single visible ICO last year would resulted in a profit 13.2 times of the initial investment.
Steve Bannon ‘Likes Bitcoin’
Bannon also hinted that he’s working on a cryptocurrency on his own, saying:
We are working on utility tokens, potentially for the populous movement on a worldwide basis.
This doesn’t come as a surprise. Bannon entered the cryptocurrency field earlier this year, outlining that cryptocurrency is “disruptive populism,” which “takes control back from central authorities.”
“It was pretty obvious to me that unless you got somehow control over your currency, all these political movements were going to be beholden to who controlled the currency,” he said. “Control of the currency, is control of everything.”
The former Chief Strategist also noted that he “likes Bitcoin” and that he owns some amount. He also outlined that cryptocurrencies have a “huge aspect in the future” despite the current regulatory uncertainty.
While it’s unclear what amount of Bitcoin Bannon owns, earlier this year he revealed that it’s a “good stake”.
What do you think of Bannon’s position on cryptocurrencies? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Bitcoinist Archives; Shutterstock.