Mark Cuban. Source: CNBC
Billionaire American entrepreneur and investor, Mark Cuban, said that he can more easily trade bananas as a commodity than Bitcoin. He noted that the largest cryptocurrency needs to be easier to use and comprehend from people. BTC’s time, however, could come now as world central banks are printing excessive amounts of fiat money.
The popular cryptocurrency proponent, Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano recently interviewed Mark Cuban on his podcast. The start of the reality TV series, Shark Tank, doubled down on his views that Bitcoin has less real-life usage than a banana:
“I can trade bananas easier as a commodity than I can trade Bitcoin. And I can still eat that banana before it goes bad and get all of mine potassium for my workout.”
Cuban also explained what has to change with the primary cryptocurrency so that he can revert his stance on it:
“It would have to be so easy to use that it’s a no-brainer. It’d have to be completely friction-free and understandable by everybody. Only then can you say it’s an alternative to gold as a store of value.
In terms of being a way to transact, you have to be able to spend it. Right now, you still have to convert it for anything that you want. As long as you have to convert it, you are still dependent on fiat.”
It’s worth noting, though, that several industries already accept BTC as a payment method.
Cuban, who is also the owner of the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, referred to a few years ago when his team started accepting Bitcoin as a payment method. Then, in 2019 the Mavs began utilizing BitPay to process all BTC payments for game tickets and merchandise.
According to Cuban, however, in all that time, they have received around $130 worth of Bitcoin.
As world central banks continue to print money to fight the economic turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this may be Bitcoin’s most substantial chance to impact the financial landscape, Cuban noted:
“I understand the potential problems with fiat. To Bitcoin’s potential benefit – if everything goes into the shitter because we are printing so much money and there are global implications. Bitcoin has something to deal with and something to say. But if it doesn’t – Bitcoin got nothing.”
Cuban also believes that blockchain has serious potential, but it’s yet to be realized in the real world:
“The fact is that blockchain is a great opportunity. But in reality, we haven’t seen blockchain applications really take off.”