LionTree explores accepting cryptocurrency for services

Aryeh Bourkoff, Chairman and CEO of LionTree, the banker who advised some of 2021’s largest media mergers said on Wednesday that he was looking into methods to accept bitcoin as payment for services, a strong endorsement of the nascent digital currency.

Aryeh Bourkoff, Chairman and CEO of LionTree, provided the example of a group of individuals pooling $40 million in ether cryptocurrency to attempt to purchase a privately held copy of the United States Constitution at auction and donate it to a museum.

Bourkoff wrote in an annual letter outlining his financial forecasts for the following year:

“I love this story not only because I agree that an original copy of the U.S. Constitution should be accessible to all Americans. But because it epitomizes the potential of the new economy: cutting-edge technology at the service of communities who can act upon their shared ideas not only recreationally, but in ways that create lasting value.”

According to the CEO of LionTree, Bitcoin has the ability to fulfill the internet’s promise of empowering individuals. But there are obstacles to overcome first, he noted, such as establishing user-friendly platforms and user interfaces to broaden its appeal beyond a predominantly male, tech-savvy early-adopter demographic.

He believes that the technology must become more energy efficient, noting that a single transaction utilizing ethereum technology consumes as much electricity as the average U.S. home does in a week. Regulators will need to respond to a currency that is expressly advertised as a substitute for government-issued cash.

Bourkoff said:

“Globally, countries will have to balance regulation and innovation, and weigh their desire to attract the next generation of entrepreneurs against their urge for control 14 through centralized currencies,” 

LionTree was involved in several of the year’s most significant media transactions, including advising AT&T Inc on its proposed merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc, guiding MGM through its $8.45 billion sale to Amazon.com Inc, and advising ViacomCBS on its $2.175 billion sale of Simon & Schuster.

Patrick

Coincu News