Meitu Inc., a Chinese technology company, established in 2008 and specializing in smartphones and selfie apps is quite popular these days. According to Forbes’s Statistics, the company’s founder Cai Wensheng is a rich man with a real-time net-worth of $1.52 billion as of May 5, 2018. So, it is no surprise that he recently announced that he has built up his bitcoin kitty to a total of 10,000 bitcoins. In an interview, Mr.Wensheng claimed that he has made a killing in the downslide due to the panic selling at the start of 2018 and has achieved his personal goal of owning 10,000 bitcoins. Mr. Wensheng discussed his investments in alternative cryptocurrencies and also compared the current state of the asset class akin to that of the Internet industry in 2000.
Just like any prudent investor, he waited patiently throughout 2017 for the prices to come down and found his opportunity during late 2017 and early 2018 where he went ahead accumulating bitcoins. In his opinion about the cryptocurrency craze, he saw everything as per the mindset. He also mentioned -
“The big difference between investment and speculation is the mindset. Suppose you buy a stock share or a cryptocurrency but the price keeps falling after that, if you are an investor, you will be delighted at the stumble for it means good time to buy more in; on the contrary, if you keep complaining of the slowdown, no offense but I think you are a speculator.”
Yet he stressed the importance of thorough research and analysis for any investor before taking the plunge.
Mr. Wensheng reportedly has investments in a dozen of blockchain projects such as Theta, Ontology, Cortex, Arcblock, Zipper, Yeecall, Dxchain, Charter. He feels the state of the industry is undergoing a trough before the impending peak explodes. He said -
“It was the similar case with Internet in 2000, startups die away in batches when the Internet bubble burst back then, few made it. While if you bet the right one, the returns are beyond your imagination.”
He discussed his investments in detail and explained that some of his investments in cryptocurrencies have yielded him quite high returns and yet some are losing money. He felt the blockchain market was in a very early phase and due to lack of strong practical applications, it still needed strong support and patience wherein the long run, time will uphold its various applications and uses.
Many industry stalwarts have expressed their solidarity with the cryptocurrency industry with Monex Group’s CEO, Oki Matsumoto espousing that they are in the same category as derivatives. Just like derivatives took their time 38 years ago to come to the mainstream, after being embroiled in various controversies in 1980, cryptocurrencies will also need time to be adapted.