Ex-Bitmain CEO says crypto can grow to tens of trillions of dollars

• Jihan Wu says the future of crypto could include exponential growth to a market worth over $10 trillion.

• Bitcoin’s rally to an all-time high above $69,000 led the crypto market to a landmark breakout to $3 trillion in market cap in November.

• Wu says even if 95% of projects fail, the 5% that thrive will have the potential to hit a valuation in the tens of trillions of dollars.

A decade of growth since the launch of Bitcoin has seen many market observers say that broader acceptance and wider institutional adoption means cryptocurrencies are here to stay.

This is also the view of Jihan Wu, a former CEO of Bitcoin mining company Bitmain, and currently the co-founder and chairman of Singapore-based financial services firm Matrixport. He is also the co-founder of Bitdeer Technologies, a crypto mining firm also based in Singapore.

Wu lays bare his long-term assessment of the market in a recent interview with Forbes, stating that even if most of the digital assets were to crash and disappear, those that survive will likely experience massive growth.

Crypto’s volatile yes, but…

The global cryptocurrency market capitalisation recently topped the $3 trillion mark as Bitcoin and other digital assets rallied to new all-time highs. However, the total market cap has since dipped, with Bitcoin losing over 30% of its value in a month as it dropped from highs of $69,000 to test support below $45,000.

Despite the price collapse, Wu is optimistic long term and sees the trajectory continues to be that of growth. He notes in the interview that volatility is part of the crypto market today, but as the market matures, long-term gains will dwarf any of the wild price fluctuations seen over the years.

“Even if 95% of today’s coins lose all their value and disappear, the remaining 5% will grow massively,” the crypto billionaire told Forbes during the interview.

He says the belief that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have an enormous potential for growth saw him and Matrixport’s other co-founder John Ge Yuesheng launch the company in early 2019.

He and Ge Yuesheng were at the time convinced that despite the bearish outlook for Bitcoin and other digital assets, the industry would see “rapid growth in the future.” 

The two think it’s possible for the industry to grow to “tens of trillions of dollars.”

Wu calls DeFi a “breathtaking” innovation

Among sectors Wu is bullish about is the decentralised finance (DeFi) space, which he says is a “breathtaking” innovation.

In 2021, you could also add non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to that list of crypto innovations to spike interest across the market. And Wu believes that such growth points to the direction crypto is taking. He sees most crypto users being ‘here to stay’.

In his opinion, what crypto investors need most now are “advanced products” tailored towards meeting investment and wealth management goals. 

On regulatory uncertainty

Over the years, regulatory uncertainty has been, and remains, one of the biggest issues in the crypto market. Various crypto market executives and experts have called on authorities to seek regulations that support, not kill innovation.

Wu holds a similar view, but the former Bitmain chief says cryptocurrencies are unlike traditional finance systems and that the limitations that weigh down the legacy systems are unlikely to hamper crypto’s development.