The cipher may be mature, but it is still small enough to operate.
At TheStreet Roundtable, Lunarcrush CEO Joe Vezzani joins host Rob Nelson to talk about how whales, hacks and even fake tweets can dramatically shake up the market in seconds.
“This market is still small enough to operate, and that’s the problem,” Nelson said. “People with huge sums can influence this market. They’re not stupid. They use it to make more money.”
Vezzani pointed out the recent Bibit Hack as a textbook case. “There were some people short before it was announced,” he said. “Every market can be manipulated, but with crypto, it’s easy. There’s no real accountability.”
He compared it to a virtual Apple scenario: “If someone hacked and posted Tim Cook’s Twitter, “Leave the apple, this place sucks”? Stock tanks are 5%, someone makes it shorter by millions. ”
Vezzani pointed out how bad actors like the North Korean Lazarus group are already making use of the space. “They stole money, maybe somewhere shorter, they made more money, and turned all that Ethereum into bitcoin. It’s a country. Are you going to chase North Korea for that?”
Social media only accelerates risk, he warned. “Even if it’s not real, it can still have this huge effect. Someone can make money on it in the short term.”
Still, Vezzani encourages long-term thinking. “Bitcoiner, I think I’m just buying and holding… I put in the money and get through it,” he said. “You’re never going to catch the top or bottom.”
He also offered advice to young traders. “If you run a startup at age 26 or 27, you’re in panic. But my great uncle had a startup at age 90.