A form of digital cash, cryptocurrency uses encryption to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. It uses cryptography, a form of coding originating from the Second World War, to process transactions securely. Its major appeal is it is independence from established financial systems and it is usually traded through specialist online “exchanges”. Currently, credit card companies prohibit crypto purchases because prices are notoriously volatile, and anything bought using credit cards is, in effect, bought with the bank’s money.
Just last week tech giant Apple announced its new Apple Card cannot be used to buy cash equivalents such as bitcoin.
But Novogratz says this ban will disappear as crypto becomes more and more mainstream and regulation becomes tighter.
He said: “You have got exchanges that are regulated. There are the real players in the game.
“You are getting more and more pipes – ways for people to participate.
“I bet that in the next two years, Mastercard and Visa will accept bitcoin with their credit cards.”
The growing influence of cryptocurrency hit the headlines earlier this year when Facebook announced it is launching its own coin called Libra.
“Libra is going to be the first major cryptocurrency… introduced by one major corporate or enterprise,” claims Naeem Aslam, chief markets analyst at Think Markets.
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