It wasn’t long ago when the cryptocurrency community was celebrating a historic 2017 cryptocurrency bull run, as Bitcoin ran from $900 to over $19,000 within the same year. When Bitcoin was breaking the $15,000 level, many cryptocurrency figures believed that Bitcoin would go parabolic, break the $20,000 level, and continue on to reach milestones such as the $50,000 and $100,000 levels. Of course, that didn’t happen, and Bitcoin currently trades at a price under $3500.
Blocktower Capital is a cryptoasset firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, and has raised a significant amount of money since its inception in August 2017. Specifically, they raised $140 million by two of the most well-known venture capital firms in the United States, Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures.
Ari Paul, a cryptocurrency fund manager at Blocktower Capital, purchased the biggest-ever bet on Bitcoin just a few days after Bitcoin saw its all-time-high in late 2017. The call options have a strike price of $50,000 and expires on December 28, 2018. Considering that Bitcoin is currently trading at nowhere close to $50,000, the contracts will soon be essentially worthless, unless the digital currency somehow finds a way to increase by over 1,000 percent in several weeks.
Many have pointed out that Paul would be losing a tremendous amount of money on the trade. However, Paul has stated on CNBC that these calls “let me capture upside while reducing my downside risk.” In addition, Paul has claimed on Twitter that he has made money on the trade on Twitter, despite many skeptics who do not believe that this is the case.
It can be hard to understand how options work, and I suggest avoiding them unless you have professional experience. We profited from these calls and they reflected a bearish outlook as I tried to explain in depth at the time. https://t.co/eLnS1p3u6c pic.twitter.com/PYoMOIpVGr
— Ari Paul (@AriDavidPaul) September 27, 2018
Blocktower Capital did not comment. The calls were purchased on LedgerX’s platform for almost $1 million.
