Billionaire: Elon Musk Should Turn SpaceX Stock into a Cryptocurrency

By CCN: Elon Musk might be burning through cash as he seeks to steady the teetering Tesla ship, but hedge funder Mike Novogratz hinted that he would be first in line to invest in his fellow billionaire’s other high-profile project, SpaceX. If SpaceX ever launched its stock on a cryptocurrency network, that is.

Elon Musk Should Issue SpaceX Stock on a Blockchain

Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital and a former hedge fund manager at Fortress Investment Group, has been on a tear this month discussing Bitcoin, but he’s also a vocal proponent of “tokenization.” He thinks Elon Musk should be, too.

Following SpaceX’s launch of several satellites into space Friday morning, Novogratz tweeted:

“Wish they would tokenize @SpaceX…This is very cool. Hats off @elonmusk.”

Wish they would tokenize @SpaceX This is very cool. Hats off @elonmusk https://t.co/J8oRqB0nPf

— Michael Novogratz (@novogratz) May 24, 2019

Subject to regulatory restrictions, companies can “tokenize” their stock by issuing shares on a blockchain. Novogratz and others believe security tokens – cryptocurrencies that represent ownership in other assets – could upend Wall Street.

Facebook is ‘Wildly Important’ for Crypto

When Novogratz spoke to CNBC following his tweet, he didn’t float the idea of Elon Musk launching SpaceX stock into the blockchain orbit.

However, he did discuss another major billionaire’s crypto play: Facebook’s “GlobalCoin.”

Unlike many crusty insiders, Novogratz said Facebook’s crypto plans are “wildly important” for bitcoin adoption.

“Facebook is wildly important for the ecosystem” – @novogratz on #cryptocurrency “bitcoin is not going to be a payment currency. bitcoin is going to be a stored value just like gold.” pic.twitter.com/NzyPeLxI3T

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 24, 2019

Interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin tried to draw a parallel between Facebook’s stablecoin and the hundreds of other failed tokens that cropped in 2017 – and failed miserably.

Novogratz dismissed that notion:

“Facebook is wildly important for the ecosystem. Here we have one of the biggest companies in the world say ‘cryptocurrencies are going to be a part of our future’ if you believe [Facebook] will have a stable-ish coin, or a coin that’s going to be linked to some basket of currencies.”

The Galaxy Digital founder further pointed out that GlobalCoin’s utility is as a payment currency, which won’t infringe on bitcoin’s turf as “digital gold.”

“Quite frankly, [Facebook’s cryptocurrency] credentializes the whole space. bitcoin is not going to be a payment currency. It’s going to be a store of value, just like gold. It’s going to be what people perceive as a store of value.”

Novogratz is so gung-ho with Facebook’s payment coin that he thinks it has a chance to become a real currency – not just a niche curiosity.

Could the same be in store for Elon Musk and SpaceX stock?