Ben Strack

What’s the biggest macro driver of crypto prices in the near term?



Moderator Noelle Acheson posed this question to 10T Holdings founder Dan Tapiero during the first panel discussion at Day 3 of Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in London.&nbsp;



Tapiero warned his answer might be “boring,” but he said it was easy: the ETFs.&nbsp;



The Securities Exchange Commission <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-approves-bitcoin-etf">cleared 10 US spot bitcoin funds to start trading</a> on Jan. 11. The funds have so far tallied $11.6 billion of net inflows in their first 10 weeks on the market.&nbsp;



“You’ve onboarded literally tens of trillions of dollars in value sitting in global equity accounts that can now just push a button and own bitcoin,” Tapiero said. “It’s as if Coinbase in effect overnight added 100 million [users] … and I think it’s a very powerful trend; it’s the first inning of it.”



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-etfs-tradfi-convergence">Bitcoin ETF catalyzing broader merge of TradFi, crypto: BlackRock exec</a>



Despite the fund category’s success, bitcoin ETFs endured net outflows on Monday and Tuesday, including a record $326 million of bleeding yesterday, according to BitMEX Research <a href="https://twitter.com/BitMEXResearch/status/1770365847925612714">data</a>.&nbsp;



The consecutive days of outflows — occurring for the first time since Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 — comes as bitcoin’s price dipped to around $61,000 on Tuesday, which is more than 15% off BTC’s all-time high of more than $73,000 reached the week prior.



Industry watchers have said that while initial demand for the funds has been from retail investors and registered investment advisers (RIAs), wirehouses and other platforms are set to start clearing these products for clients in the coming weeks and months.



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/wealth-managers-feel-pressure-bitcoin-etfs">Restricting access to growing bitcoin ETFs becoming ‘hard to justify’</a>



“We haven’t seen anything that’s been so concentrated from the demand side,” Tapiero said. “There’s like a little bridge and the entire US wealth management world is trying to cross this little bridge into the new world.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, who joined Tapiero on the discussion, noted that his company sent $10 million to BlackRock in late 2022 — capital meant to ultimately become a position in what was later launched as the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).



The investment came after Scaramucci said he had a conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who at the time was bearish on bitcoin as an asset. <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blackrock-spot-bitcoin-etf-rumors">The executive’s tune has since changed</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“I’m not patting ourselves on the back, I’m just telling you it was the bottom of the market, nobody wanted it and BlackRock was defensive,” Scaramucci said. “It is the largest ETF launch in the history of [ETFs].”



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/blackrock-bitcoin-etf-battle">IBIT’s net inflows total about $13 billion</a> since launching on Jan. 11. It was the second-largest spot bitcoin ETF — with about $15.4 billion in assets under management as of market close Tuesday.



The BlackRock fund trails only the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), which manages about $23 billion. GBTC ported over about $28 billion in existing assets when it converted to an ETF in January.



The impact of ETFs on bitcoin could soon bleed over into the segment’s second-largest asset: ether. The SEC is set to rule on <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-etfs-approved-ether-funds-next">proposed ETFs that would hold ETH</a> by May 23.&nbsp;



Tapiero and Scaramucci agreed that while the timeline on those products is unclear, those approvals are coming.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Maybe by the end of the year, but very unlikely in May,” Scaramucci said. “It has to happen, but [Gensler’s] going to do things to delay it.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst. </li>
</ul>

Anthony Scaramucci

ETF adoption set to keep driving bitcoin price: 10T’s Dan Tapiero

<div id="highlights-block_628e4b1764ac6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The crypto financial services provider has roughly 500 institutional clients and focuses on lending and trading</li>
 <li>Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings were among the main investors in the round</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto financial services provider Babel Finance has raised $80 million at a $2 billion valuation as the company seeks to continue driving institutional adoption in the space.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The company’s primary clients are crypto-native firms, banks, investment funds, ultra-high-net-worth accredited investors and family offices. Founded in 2018, <a href="https://babel.finance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Babel Finance</a>’s main businesses are crypto lending and trading, and it focuses on bitcoin, ether and stablecoins. 



Babel Finance CEO Del Wang said in a statement that the company seeks to take part in the “building of the fundamental financial order and rules for the industry” as the industry becomes more institutionalized.



“From the perspective of short-term profits, the retail market and altcoins may have higher profit margins, but we pay more attention to the long-term development of the industry and aim to lead in institutional financial services and innovation,” Wang added.&nbsp;



The main investors in this round include Jeneration Capital and 10T Holdings, as well as existing shareholders Dragonfly Capital and BAI Capital.



“Babel Finance has opened up a market with high barriers to entry and great value in the emerging field of institutional investor services in crypto,” 10T CEO Dan Tapiero said in a statement. “Babel Finance has built a laudable reputation as a highly specialized and trusted crypto financial institution, maintaining its leading position among the institutional client-focused market.&#8221;



The firm had raised $40 million in its Series A round in May 2021. Since then, the team grew from 50 people to 170. It currently has about 500 clients.



Babel Finance had an outstanding loan balance of more than $3 billion and an average monthly trading volume of $800 million in derivatives at the end of 2021. It had structured and traded more than $20 billion in options products at that time.



It has a new office in Singapore and applied for licenses in a range of countries and regions, including Hong Kong, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.



A Babel Finance spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on how it would use the funding or its specific growth plans.



The company is the latest crypto firm to fetch a 10-figure valuation. <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ava-labs-reportedly-hits-5-25b-valuation-with-new-raise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ava Labs</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/boba-network-valuation-hits-1-5b-after-45m-series-a-round/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boba Network</a> were valued at $5.25 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively, after their latest raises last month.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/the-breakdown">The Breakdown</a>: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.</li>



<li><a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch">0xResearch</a>: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst. </li>
</ul>

10T Holdings

Babel Finance Valued at $2B After Latest Fundraise

<div id="highlights-block_61af97dc0eb70" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The firm currently manages about $800 million in assets between the 10T Fund and the 10T DAE Expansion Fund</li>
 <li>10T’s initial pair of funds focuses on investments in mid- to late-stage private crypto businesses</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Private equity firm 10T Holdings is getting set to launch a third fund focused on digital assets companies, which would bring the company’s assets under management to more than $1 billion.



The firm currently manages about $800 million in assets between the 10T Fund and the 10T DAE Expansion Fund. The new fund, called the 10T DAE Fund 3.0 in a Tuesday <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1896583/000189658321000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regulatory filing</a>, is expected to be $500 million.



The newest fund plans come as the digital assets space has seen an increasing number of use cases and sectors in recent months.&nbsp;



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/10t-holdings-raises-750m-for-first-growth-equity-funds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10T’s existing two private equity funds</a> invest in three segments within the crypto ecosystem: digital asset ecosystem gateways, blockchain infrastructure and what the firm considers to be next-generation financial services.&nbsp;



Tapiero noted that the firm’s focus on investments in mid- to late-stage private businesses in the digital assets ecosystem makes 10T’s existing funds unique to many other offerings. The 10T Fund and the 10T DAE Expansion Fund do not invest in cryptocurrencies, venture projects or early-stage protocols, he explained.



When 10T was founded last year, there were a dozen or so crypto companies with a market capitalization of $1 billion or more, Tapiero said. Today, there are about 70, he noted.&nbsp;



“The demand for investing in this part of the capital stack — B and C rounds, and later of some of these larger companies — has been so large,&#8221; the CEO said previously.



The 14 companies the first two 10T funds have invested in to date are: Kraken, eToro, Huobi, Mercado Bitcoin, Gemini, Bitfury, Ledger, Helium, Figment, Prime Trust, Deribit, Figure, Animoca Brands and Ledn.



“We think the companies in the first two funds are companies that three, four, five or six years from now will be in the S&amp;P 500,” Tapiero said. “These are the established companies that are in the pole position in the space.” 



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/das-2021-crypto-market-could-hit-40t-in-five-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tapiero estimated</a> during Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit in September that the crypto market value, which is currently at about $2.5 trillion, could hit $20 trillion within five years. He said bitcoin reaching a price of $500,000 within that span is “very reasonable.”&nbsp;



Bitcoin’s price was roughly $51,200, as of Noon ET, according to CoinGecko.



<hr class="wp-block-separator">
Get the day’s top crypto news and insights delivered to your inbox every evening.&nbsp;<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/newsletter/?source=end" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to Blockworks’ free newsletter</a>&nbsp;now.
<hr class="wp-block-separator">

10T Holdings Plans to Launch Third Crypto Fund

<div id="highlights-block_61435b111102e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Pantera CEO Dan Morehead noted that while bitcoin’s market cap could grow by 10 times in half a decade, he expects other crypto segments to go up even more</li>
 <li>Executives counter argument of Bridgewater Associates CIO Ray Dalio that governments will “kill” bitcoin if it becomes successful </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The cryptocurrency market capitalization could continue to roughly double in size each year over the next half decade to reach $40 trillion by that time, <a href="http://v" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pantera Capital</a> CEO Dan Morehead said during a panel at Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) on Wednesday.



While he noted that bitcoin could grow by 10 times during that span, he expects other crypto segments to go up even more. More than 100% of the returns in the cryptocurrency industry have come outside of bitcoin over the last six months, Morehead added.



“Money protection or a digital gold is one of the things blockchain does, but there’s hundreds and hundreds of different use cases — NFTs, DeFi, all that and that’s why it’s so exciting,” he said. “It’s going to go through so many different industries and end up being worth so much value because it’s disrupting things that weren’t touched. Basically all of finance wasn’t touched by the internet.”



The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $2.28 trillion, according to <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CoinGecko</a>, as cryptocurrency trading volume in the last day was at $144 billion, as of 12:30 p.m. eastern on Thursday. The market caps of bitcoin and Ethereum were at about $900 billion (39.8% of overall market) and $425 billion (18.7%), respectively, the data shows.



Morehead was joined on the Manhattan event stage by Mark Yusko, founder and CIO of <a href="https://www.morgancreekcap.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morgan Creek Capital Management</a>, and Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of <a href="https://10tfund.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10T Holdings</a>.&nbsp;



Yusko, who estimates a $25 trillion crypto market in five years, said he expects a burst in the crypto market value over the next 24 months, followed by a bust.&nbsp;



“People will [say] it’s over, it’s the end,” he told the crowd. That’s the beginning.”



Yusko noted that he also expects the dominance of bitcoin to decline to about 20% of the overall crypto space, perhaps reaching $5 trillion by 2026.



Meanwhile Tapiero estimated that the crypto market value could hit $20 trillion and said bitcoin reaching a price of $500,000 is “very reasonable” within five years.



Bitcoin’s price was above $48,000 on Thursday afternoon, according to CoinGecko, up 4.3% in the last seven days.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“I don’t know that bitcoin dominance will fall … because there is a world in which things start getting built on bitcoin,” Tapiero explained. “There’s so much innovation happening at such a fast pace that, at least for me, I find it hard to be specific on the bet.” 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Can crypto be stopped?</h3>



Ray Dalio, CIO of hedge fund manager Bridgewater Associates since 1985, said Wednesday in an <a href="https://twitter.com/SquawkCNBC/status/1438122407965954054?s=19" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a> with CNBC that though he has a small allocation to bitcoin relative to other investments, the growth of crypto could lead to its end.&nbsp;



“It’s an amazing accomplishment to have brought it from where that programming occurred to where it is,” he said. “&#8230;I think at the end of the day if it’s really successful, they’ll kill it. They’ll try to kill it and I think they will kill it, because they have ways of killing it.



“It doesn’t have intrinsic value,” Dalio added. “If you put cryptocurrencies, or let’s say bitcoin, in the historical perspective, there are so many things in a historical perspective that didn’t have intrinsic value and had perceived value and then became hot, and then became cold.”



Taperio called Dalio’s comments “ridiculous” during the DAS panel, noting that older investors who are choosing to ignore the benefits of crypto are having their wealth devalued.&nbsp;



Yusko called bitcoin the “greatest money ever invented,” noting that it and gold are the only two forms of actual money.



“That money … will displace all of the bad, crappy money, and that is inevitable and there’s no way to stop it,” Yusko said. “Ray Dalio is crazy to say they can shut it down. No, you can’t.”



The Morgan Creek founder noted China’s first crackdown on bitcoin in 2013, which sent its price tumbling.&nbsp;



“The price fell from $1,400 to $1,000 in two weeks,” Yusko noted. “Where is it today? Is it higher than $1,000? Last time I checked it was, right?’



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Are you a UK or EU reader that can’t get enough investor-focused content on digital assets?<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

DAS 2021: Crypto Market Could Hit $40T in Five Years

<div id="highlights-block_e327486724ac2dde910b151d005a632b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard and the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan are among the funds’ largest investors</li>
 <li>Bitcoin could hit $500,000 in next several years, 10T CEO Dan Taperio told Blockworks, despite hard-to-understand crypto concepts being a barrier to entry especially among older investors</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Private equity firm <a href="https://10tfund.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10T Holdings</a> has nearly $400 million in commitments for its first two growth equity funds focused on digital asset companies, as investment in the crypto space has boomed this year.



Together with co-investment and sub-advised vehicles, 10T raised approximately $750 million for the strategy, which comprises the 10T Fund and the 10T DAE Expansion Fund, the firm announced Wednesday. Most of the capital has already been deployed, according to the company.



The funds invest in digital asset companies with market valuations over $500 million through primary funding rounds and secondary market purchases. Portfolio companies currently include Kraken, Ledger, Figure, Deribit, Bitfury, Huobi, eToro, Figment, Animoca Brands and Helium.



The 10T Fund first closed in January with about $120 million, CEO Dan Tapiero told Blockworks, noting that the demand for the offering was so great that the firm kept it open to investors.



The fund’s first two investments — Kraken and eToro — quickly went up “astronomically,” the executive explained. The firm decided to create the 10T DAE Expansion Fund to invest in the same companies as the original fund, with the exception of Kraken and eToro.&nbsp;



The portfolios can be broken down into three buckets: digital asset ecosystem gateways, next-generation financial services and blockchain infrastructure businesses.&nbsp;



“The goal has always been to put three or four companies in each bucket and to build a diversified exposure for investors … who don’t really understand tokens or cryptocurrency or protocols or early-stage projects, and [who are] not very venture oriented,” Taperio said.



The funds’ investors include public pension plans, endowments, foundations, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Taperio noted that billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard and the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan, were among the largest investors.&nbsp;



The capital raise comes a couple months after venture capital firm <a href="https://a16z.com/about/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andreessen Horowitz</a> announced a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/andreessen-horowitz-launches-2-2b-crypto-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new $2.2 billion fund</a> to invest in crypto networks and the founders and teams currently building within the digital assets space.&nbsp;



As of mid-June, an all-time high of $17 billion <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-venture-funding-is-at-an-all-time-high-this-is-where-the-money-is-going/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">had been invested</a> into crypto projects in 2021. &nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">The potential for and resistance to crypto</h3>



Taperio, who founded 10T last year, was previously the managing partner of global macro investment firm DTAP Capital Advisors and has worked as a portfolio manager and analyst for Tiger Management, Duquesne Capital Management, Steinhardt Management Co., and SAC Capital Advisors. He also co-founded Gold Bullion International, a physical precious metals and cryptocurrency platform for the wealth management industry.



He told Blockworks that he continues to believe the price of bitcoin could reach between $300,000 and $500,000 in the next three or four years.&nbsp;



“I could argue for higher numbers, but I think that’s reasonable,” he said. “I just think the world has been very slow to understand how wide-ranging, how broad the influence of the bitcoin invention is.”



The price estimate would put bitcoin’s market valuation at about $5 trillion, Taperio noted, compared to $200 trillion in bonds, which currently have yields under 2%. Meanwhile investors can get 8% on a stablecoin, he noted, or between 6% and 8% yield on bitcoin on top of 200% annualized returns.&nbsp;



The 10T CEO also pointed out that <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc">bitcoin’s market capitalization</a>, currently at $875 million, CoinGecko data shows, is dwarfed by Amazon, which has a market cap of about $1.8 trillion.  



“How could the most decentralized, most secure network in the history of the world be worth half of one company?” Tapiero said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”



While Howard, as well as other renowned investors like Paul Tudor Jones, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/paul-tudor-jones-likes-bitcoin-as-portfolio-diversifier/'" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are bullish on crypto</a>, billionaire John Paulson <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/billionaire-john-paulson-calls-crypto-a-limited-supply-of-nothing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently called crypto</a> “a limited supply of nothing.” The founder of investment management firm Paulson &amp; Co., who made an estimated $20 billion for himself and investors when he used credit default swaps to bet against the US subprime mortgage lending market in 2007, said cryptocurrencies will eventually prove to be worthless.



“John Paulson does not spend six months, 10 hours a day trying to understand the mechanism of the bitcoin network, how it functions, how it works, why it’s important.”



Tapiero said it took him a while to embrace crypto, noting that he pushed himself to read about and speak with people in the space. But older investors that have made their fortune within the existing investment world are less inclined to buy into a new system that has evolved from nothing.



“I’ve spoken to hundreds of investors from the traditional world and I’ve never seen anything break down across age demarcation so clearly,” Tapiero said. “Guys over 60 who are wealthy, it’s very difficult to get through. Anyone under 35, they get it.”



Are you a UK or EU reader that cant get enough investor-focused content on digital assets?<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;in London on November 15th and 16th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) London. Use code ARTICLE for £75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/das-london/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.

10T Holdings Raises $750M for First Growth Equity Funds

Jacquelyn Melinek

During the Bretton Woods: The Realignment conference, Dan Tapiero, the founder and CEO of 10T Holdings, shared his macro-view on where the economy ecosystem is headed, how asset classes are changing and how bitcoin will become a core asset in the future.



“Bonds as an asset class — which is something portfolio managers have relied upon for the past 30-40 years — is gone; it’s changing,” he said.



While very few people have acknowledged that in the traditional world, society is at a point now if there’s a slow down, the bond part of one’s portfolio will not be able to compensate for losses and no gains in someone&#8217;s equity portfolio, he said. “That’s the great macro dilemma money managers face today. What do I use as a hedge for my equity?”



While gold can replace bonds in a portfolio and act as a hedge to the equity part of one&#8217;s portfolio, Tapiero said he’s coming at the idea from a practical money-making perspective.



People should also understand that bitcoin is one of the first truly global macro investments to exist, he said. “Maybe you can argue gold wise, but there’s never been any financial asset that’s been so decentralized across so many different countries in the world,” he said.&nbsp;



Watch my full interview with Tapiero below.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Bretton Woods: Dan Tapiero on Gold, Bitcoin and Ether Acting as Hedges" width="1024" height="576" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BmtFrweqdLY?list=PLvER9nHSRN3zwnN089ulVy3F6lj7sOdIZ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



Want more investor-focused content on digital assets?&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;September 13th and 14th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in NYC. Use code ARTICLE for $75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.

Bitcoin

Dan Tapiero Talks Bonds, Gold and Bitcoin at Bretton Woods

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_611ec87dce93a" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The gold purchase was made in the form of 100-ounce gold bars</li>
 <li>Palantir, co-founded by CEO Alec Karp and technology mogul Peter Thiel, creates softwares used by the government and corporations</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



In preparation for a “black swan event,” Palantir Technologies Inc. has purchased nearly $51 million in physical gold so far in August and may accept payment in gold in the future, according to a <a href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001321655/55ab4b3e-dc8c-4c4a-bc0f-980d82d17d20.pdf">filing</a> from the software company’s second quarter financial results.&nbsp;



Palantir, co-founded by CEO Alec Karp and technology mogul Peter Thiel, creates softwares used by the government and corporations.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 10T Holdings weighed in on the news of the purchase on Twitter.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">In all my years&#8230; Can&#39;t remember anything quite like this&#8230; Cutting edge tech security company founded by tech mogul buys PHYSICAL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GOLD?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GOLD</a> Accepts gold as payment?? Why no <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BTC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BTC</a>? Maybe fear is internet inoperable. All digital value not accessible?? Wow<a href="https://t.co/MLShng61dz">https://t.co/MLShng61dz</a>&mdash; Dan Tapiero (@DTAPCAP) <a href="https://twitter.com/DTAPCAP/status/1427850794108338185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The gold purchase was made in the form of 100-ounce gold bars, which “will initially be kept in a secure third-party facility located in the northeastern United States,” according to the filing.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Palantir Gotham, one of the company’s artificial intelligence platforms, is used by counter-terrorism analysts at offices in the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) and United States Department of Defense, according to Palantir. Gotham compiles and analyzes large amounts of information using AI algorithms to help organizations, including the US military, make data-driven decisions.&nbsp;



“I think it is interesting that a firm that reportedly has close ties to the US Defense and Intelligence establishments is buying gold, especially since it is reportedly being bought to hedge ‘black swan’ events,” said Luke Gromen, founder of Forest For the Trees LLC. “We’ll have to see if there is anything more to it than that.”



Palantir, which made its public market debut in September 2020, reported higher-than-expected revenue for the second quarter of 2021 after closing more than 62 deals, each worth $1 million or more.&nbsp;



At time of publication, gold was trading down 0.4% at $1,787.50 per ounce. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="512" height="269" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg" alt="Source: Goldprice.org" class="wp-image-6841" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg?w=512 512w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/palantir-gold.jpg?w=80 80w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /><figcaption>Source: Goldprice.org</figcaption></figure></div>



Want more investor-focused content on digital assets?&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join us</a>&nbsp;September 13th and 14th for the Digital Asset Summit (DAS) in NYC. Use code ARTICLE for $75 off your ticket.&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://cms.blockworks.co/events/digital-asset-summit-2021-2/" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buy it now</a>.