Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek is confident that digital assets will be boosted in the fourth quarter of the year, primarily driven by the US central bank reducing interest rates.
Marszalek said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday that Crypto.com’s revenue is likely to be better this year, “especially if we see a Fed rate cut and a strong Q4 following.”
He added that he’s betting on the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates at its Sept. 17 meeting, which is usually good for crypto as borrowing becomes cheaper and more liquidity is available for riskier investments.
The Fed’s last rate cuts were between September and December of last year, when it dropped rates from 5.5% to 4.5%, leading to crypto markets gaining 57% over those four months.
CME futures prediction markets show the probability of a rate cut has surged to 91.7% following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech on Aug. 22, when he hinted at easing monetary policy.
No decision yet on IPO
Marszalek said his company “has the numbers” to do a public listing but enjoys being private and has yet to make a decision.
Related: Rising Fed rate chatter may be a red flag for crypto: Santiment
“I have to admit it’s quite tempting to consider these options,” he said on a potential initial public offering. Multiple crypto firms have raised billions of dollars this year amid their public debuts.
He added that the firm had $1.5 billion in revenue last year, and about $1 billion in gross profit with $700 million reinvested, before predicting that this year will be better.
“We have been approached by all the top names in terms of investment banks. We want to be a very well-run company, so we’re preparing everything, but no decisions have been made at this point.”
Venturing into prediction markets
Marszalek also revealed that the firm was planning to enter the prediction market space. “We think that prediction markets are going to be huge,” he said, adding, “sports is a part of it, but it’s not the whole thing.”
“We want to be the liquidity center for prediction markets on-shore in the US, so we’ll play very aggressively in that space.”
Blockchain prediction markets are currently dominated by Polymarket and Kalshi, which have hit regulatory and legal hurdles in offering event contracts in the US.
CRO surges on Trump Media partnership
Crypto.com announced a partnership with Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, on Aug. 26.
The agreement includes the establishment of a treasury strategy for the exchange’s native token, Cronos (CRO).
The token spiked almost 150% to $0.38 following the announcement, but has since retreated to $0.27, down 72% from its November 2021 all-time high.
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