Reddit Co-Founder Says Crypto Hype Is Gone – And That’s a Good Thing

Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of social media platform Reddit, said he believes the crypto hype is gone and that’s actually a good thing for the industry.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance released Friday, Ohanian, while agreeing that the crypto winter has set in, said:

“The hype is gone. The fervor is gone. But I think that’s a good thing.”

Ohanian, citing Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, explained the bearish crypto markets had led to speculators staying away and only “true believers” staying on, and it’s a “great” thing as these are the people who are now building on crypto infrastructure.

“And they’re actually builders. They’re actually building the infrastructure that it’s going to take to really make this happen,” he said.

Ohanian further added the fact JP Morgan is now investing in a crypto product despite its CEO Jamie Dimon called  bitcoin a “fraud”  indicates “there is real innovation that is happening now that all the wild speculation is gone.”

That said, he acknowledged it’s going to take “lots of time” before the industry can see the shift, and one needs to take a longer-term view when investing in it.

“I think that’s just generally good advice for any kind of investing, but especially something so nascent as crypto,” he said.

This is not the first time Ohanian has had a positive stance on cryptos. Back in March last year, he said bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are poised to “fuel a potential new internet,” even with a high level of volatility.

Ohanian has also put his money where his mouth is. In the Friday’s interview, he said that Reddit was a seed investor in crypto exchange Coinbase back in 2011. Most recently, Ohanian also participated in a $28.5 million funding round of a blockchain-based sharing economy startup Origin Protocol.

In May 2018, the site’s chief technology officer said the platform was also planning to reinstate cryptocurrency as a payment option for its gold members.

Alexis Ohanian image via YouTube