Alex Ohanian: crypto still viable substitute for ‘failing’ fiats

The co-founder of Reddit and Initialized Capital, Alexis Ohanian, believes that cryptocurrencies are a viable substitute for fiat currencies and that blockchain and crypto have the potential to revolutionise the web.

Ohanian also says that by the end of this year the price of Bitcoin will be at least $20,000 and (£15,196) and Ethereum $1,500 (£1,140).

“Bitcoin has had quite a bit of battle testing over the years, and it’s certainly the most robust and certainly one of the best proofs of crypto being a possible store of value,” says Ohanian in a CNBC interview.

“But when you start going down the list of cryptocurrencies, you very quickly run into a bunch that are far less robust and far more, frankly, fraudulent.”

He explains that the price of BTC and ETH will continue to move upwards because “more and more people are going to look for alternatives to fiat as a store of value”.

He adds that over time people will increasingly realise that fiats fail and when they do they lose their value completely, a factor that will compel people to trust decentralised currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum instead.

Ohanian warns that “plenty of states may try to stop – and some already have – the rise of cryptocurrencies that would present challenges to their fiats”.

He does stress, however, that he is not calling the end of fiats: “I do think, though, that the technology represents a real, viable alternative that is showing more and more credibility over time – and it’s still very volatile – but in the long-term has a unique value.”