Beyond Shark Tank, Mark Cuban Says 80% of His New Investments Are in Crypto

Mark Cuban said he is not concerned with price speculation surrounding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin, likening it to a "trick" similar to stocks.

According to comedian and former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban analyzes the intricacies of the crypto space from a practical perspective.

Cuban told Stewart on Thursday's podcast that he doesn't pay attention to price speculation surrounding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin, likening it to "tricks" similar to stocks. The Dallas Mavericks owner explained some basics of the crypto space to Stewart, calling it "decentralized and trustless," with token holders having "consistent equal voting rights" to determine the direction of each project — those traits that attracted the billionaire investor.

“The investments I’m making now are not in traditional businesses,” Cuban said. “80% of the non-Shark Tank investments I make are in or around crypto.”

Cuban theoretically explained how a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) could provide colonoscopies and other necessary medical procedures. He also believes that many new businesses modeled on the crypto-economy—decentralized and trustless—will disrupt traditional institutions such as banking, insurance, and the book industry.

“It’s 1995 for cryptocurrencies,” Cuban said, referring to the crypto industry still in its early days similar to the internet:

“[Cryptocurrencies] are hard to understand and troublesome, but 10 years from now, these applications – there will be success – will create their own economies, just like the Internet age, the innovative young generation will find it first."

The Shark Tank star's stance on crypto-assets has changed significantly over the past few years, having said that he "would rather have bananas" than gold or bitcoin. The billionaire investor has backed Polygon, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in tokenized carbon offsets and calling for more regulation of stablecoins.

Stewart hinted that the field is better understood as a technical and economic issue rather than one consisting entirely of monetary systems, but he remains concerned about leaving the decision to any group. The comedian has previously joked that a token project with the same name will be launched:

If you like this "site", you will also like my next project. Crypto "Stewcoin"!

— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) December 16, 2021. (Cointelegraph)