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This Is Hilarious: Bitcoin Denier Steve Hanke Is Into Ethereum Now

Did Steve Hanke find a way out of the hole he’s been digging himself into for all these years? The economist holds the world record for the person with the highest number of terrible Bitcoin takes, with almost 13 years of failed predictions. And now, out of nowhere, he seems to like the world’s second cryptocurrency by market capitalization. What does he like about Ethereum, though? The “560% price surge this year,” of course. But there’s more… 

Ethereum is giving Bitcoin a run for its money. Ethereum has become increasingly popular amongst DeFi and NFTs, resulting in a 560% price surge this year. Has the look of a bubble. But, is it?https://t.co/2fkvuNoRWz

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) November 12, 2021

Wait… is Steve Hanke into NFTs? The man said, “Ethereum has become increasingly popular amongst DeFi and NFTs” without a hint of irony. He also said, “Ethereum is giving Bitcoin a run for its money,” which is the most positive thing Steve Hanke has said about Bitcoin in over a decade. And, in the end there, he leaves space for possible deniability, “Has the look of a bubble. But, is it?”

The economist also links to an extremely basic and clumsy CNN article. Is Steve Hanke warming up to cryptocurrencies? Or is there some other dynamic at play here?

The Article Steve Hanke Linked To

This run-of-the-mill article doesn’t really say much. Its main message is the price action anyone reading NewsBTC is probably already familiar with.

“Ethereum, or ether for short, is also trading at record levels. It’s now hovering around $4,850, having soared more than 560% this year, compared to the “mere” 135% pop for bitcoin. Crypto investors are betting that ether will continue to be used as the backbone for even more non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, as well as so-called smart contracts.”

Ok, what else do you got for us? Not much. It’s all over the place. It breaks down the total cryptocurrency market capitalization, introduces the concept of the mythical “flippening,” and tries to keep people away from meme coins. To accomplish this, CNN quotes Paxfull’s Ray Youssef saying, “Ether and bitcoin versus meme coins are like the difference between blue chips and penny stocks you get a call about from a guy in a boiler room.” The article also talks about inflation, how could it not?, and introduces ETFs into the picture.

“The rise of bitcoin ETFs also could be good news for ethereum, because experts predict that similar ether ETFs could soon launch. That will make it even easier for average investors and big money management firms to buy into the crypto.”

So, all in all, it doesn’t say much and the only clear fact it presents is that Ethereum had a better year than Bitcoin. Why did Steve Hanke link to it, then?

ETH price chart for 11/13/2021 on Bitfinex | Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
Is Hanke Trying To Find A Lifeboat?

Here at NewsBTC, we constantly argue with Steve Hanke. Just in the last year, we responded to him calling Bitcoin not legitimate, not a currency, and the concept of it being legal tender “stupid.” And now, Hanke seems to like Ethereum. Why? Is it because Ethereum’s internal policies are more akin to the traditional banking system he’s accustomed to? Or did Hanke realize that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and is too afraid to admit he was wrong about Bitcoin for all these years?

In any case, the main reaction in his replies so far is mockery. Even notorious Ethereum defender Udi Wertheimer said, “this is the most bearish ethereum signal i’ve seen in my entire life.” Let’s keep an eye on Hanke’s Twitter feed and see what the economist says about Ethereum in the next few days. This is going to be interesting.

Featured Image: RobinHiggins at Pixabay | Charts by TradingView

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Christie’s Will Auction Original Art From Gary Vee ‘s Veefriends NFT Collection

Notorious entrepreneur and social media personality, Gary Vee, is now a full-blown artist. The legendary auction house Christie’s crowned him as so by announcing the sale of five of the original pieces from his Veefriends NFT collection. Is this new development positive for NFT mania? Is it positive for Veefriends holders? What does it say about the current state of the arts? So many questions.

Related Reading | In The Mood For Auction: Wong Kar-Wai ‘s First NFT Available At Sotheby’s

First of all, these are the five pieces that Christie’s will auction:

Christie’s pic.twitter.com/YGxkeyZ3KE

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) September 14, 2021

On the Veefriends official site, the NFT collection is defined as:

“VeeFriends is the name of Gary Vaynerchuk’s NFT collection. He created VeeFriends to bring to life his ambitions of building a community around his creative and business passions using NFT technology and their smart contract capabilities. By owning a VeeFriend NFT, you immediately become part of the VeeFriends community and get access to VeeCon.”

So, maybe Gary Vee ’s credentials as an artist are lacking, but he’s a titan at generating value. Maybe his childlike drawings are not that aesthetically pleasing, but Gary Vee’s ability to generate community around an idea is a proven fact. And his drive to win is unmatched. Which characteristics are more important for an NFT project? What are Veefriend’s holders investing in?

At the moment of writing, Open Sea informs that the floor price for a Veefriend is 18,4 ETH. According to CNN, Veefriends “amasses $70M in sales since launch in May.”

ETH price chart for 09/14/2021 on Bitstamp | Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
CNN’s First Move Announces Gary Vee/ Christie’s Auction

The man himself, Gary Vee, went on CNN to announce that Veefriend’s original art is to be auctioned by the legendary Christie’s. How much value for his NFT holders did this move create?

“People underestimated this project in the OG NFT-land, and this is another execution that’s not going to allow them to underestimate it anymore.”@garyvee announces he's bringing five personal artworks from his #NFT collection @veefriends to @ChristiesInc!@IsaCNN | #NFTart pic.twitter.com/dikTsu5iW8

— First Move CNN (@firstmove) September 14, 2021

When host Isa Soares asked Gary Vee about the reasons behind partnering with Christie’s, besides dedicating the win to his parents, he said:

“Why? Because it elevates the brand. I have people who are watching right now that own the gorilla, own the tiger, own the “you’re gonna die” fly. This is my Disney. This is my Pokemon. This is my character IP based reality and I’m going to build this for the next 40 to 50 years.“

Isn’t that exactly what you want to hear if you’re a Veefriends holder? Commitment. Through a huge platform. Gary Vee ’s community appreciated and understood the impact of the moment, as this video shows:

Jeeez! The @veefriends discord is on fire! 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🔥🔥🔥🔥😭 @garyvee! pic.twitter.com/QdxYFSbuTQ

— ℂ𝕒𝕡𝕦𝕥(ℂ𝕣𝕪𝕡𝕥𝕠)𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕤🦋 (@CryptoDragonis) September 14, 2021

Another quote from the CNN interview:

“People underestimated this project in the OG NFT-land, and this is another execution that’s not going to allow them to underestimate it anymore.”

In light of the announcement, it’s hard to argue with that.

The story behind the slabs and the drawings and the auction at @ChristiesInc pic.twitter.com/7ZNLWD9kAY

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) September 14, 2021

The Veefriends Are Doing It In Their Own Way

Not everything in NFT-land is about the art. Not everything in the Veefriends is about childlike drawings. As we learned from Bitcoinist’s “The Andy Milonakis NFT Show,” “The NFT world has got its own characteristics, though, and a sense of belonging is one of the main ones. The Bored Apes are part of a Yacht Club. The Gutter Cats are part of a Gang.”

Related Reading | New To Bitcoin? Learn To Trade Crypto With The NewsBTC Trading Course

Gary Vee understands this better than everyone. From the Veefriends site:

“VeeFriends are all about utility and access, meaning each NFT will have different levels of access and activities through the smart contract attached with each investment thus giving them “utility” through metadata. Over the last 15 years, he has spent time interacting with hundreds of thousands of people — what VeeFriends will allow will be a structure around these interactions.

The token is the key that unlocks you into Gary’s world.”

The drawings somehow connect to the hundreds of meetings with entrepreneurs young and old that Gary Vee has had through the years. And give you access to that world. The NFT collection is an extension of Gary Vee ‘s work.

It will always be “AND” when it comes to art 🖼 .. “OR” always losses historically pic.twitter.com/jQaIYV0mJG

— Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) September 14, 2021

“There’s just so many ways to do it, and I cheer for them all,” says Gary Vee regarding NFTs. In light of the Christie’s announcement, it’s hard to argue with that.

Featured Image: The five Christie’s pieces as per this tweet | Charts by TradingView