Mike Novogratz – from wrestler to mad billionaire LUNA

Mike Novogratz is the investor with the most financial money, but the community knows him best through the LUNA promotion.

On May 9, when LUNA and UST collapsed, Mike Novogratz was the name most mentioned by the community after CEO Terraform Labs Do Kwon. This came from his being an influential figure in the digital money market. Novogratz’s public support is one of the reasons users are interested in Terra, which helped LUNA raise prices sharply and surpass $100 each before losing almost all value last month.

Before being famous for cryptocurrencies, billionaire Novogratz, 57, had a career full of ups and downs.

When Mike Novogratz attended Princeton University, he was a famous wrestler. He won twice in 1986 and 1987, at a tournament organized by the National Association of University Sports (NCAA) in the weight category of 68 kg.

After graduating with a degree in economics, Mike Novogratz served in the New Jersey National Guard before joining Goldman Sachs, a central Wall Street investment bank, at age 33 (in 1997). In 2000, he left Goldman Sachs and joined Fortress Investments, a giant investment fund.

Charming opportunity with money

Mike Novogratz learns about Bitcoin during his time at Fortress. Pete Briger, a former classmate at Princeton University and co-worker at Fortress, both bought the money in 2008 on their own account, which was seen as personal investments. Everything went well until seven years later.

In 2015, Fortress lost money to Brazil, dragging a series of smaller investment funds to their death. Novogratz then left the company and started a new business specializing in venture capital. At the moment, he continues to learn about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies but no longer speculative but more seriously focused on investing.

“Bitcoin and digital money are fascinating new technologies, better able to hold value amid rising inflation than other options,” Mike Novogratz said at the time. Mike Novogratz then spent more than $10 million on Bitcoin and millions more on digital currencies, mainly Ethereum.

At the end of 2017, Mike Novogratz was the founder and CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, which later changed to Galaxy Digital Holdings. This is one of the few crypto investment funds that are required to publish financial results. In the first nine months of 2018, the company lost $136 million. However, Galaxy Digital Holdings is still growing rapidly thanks to pioneering digital money investments.

Terra’s ‘Fan Frenzy’

Galaxy Digital poured $25 million into Terraform Labs – the company behind the LUNA and UST tokens in 2020. In a “letter of interest” to shareholders, friends, and communities of money after the collapse of these two tokens, he referred to the decision in favor because he recognized “significant growth potential” then.

Galaxy Digital’s investment brought in more than $355 million in the first quarter of 2022, accounting for most of the company’s $one billion in digital profits. However, when LUNA and UST plunged, the entire amount evaporated quickly.

Before Terra collapsed, Mike Novogratz – who now has a $2.3 billion fortune according to Forbes – was not afraid to make his optimism public. In March 2021, he tweeted that he was “motivated to become an Anchor investor,” referring to Terra’s Anchor Protocol, allowing users to send savings at up to 20% interest per year.

“My role is to preach. I can’t stop talking about it,” Mike Novogratz told the Bitcoin Conference in Miami in April when he mentioned Terra.

Mike Novogratz’s frenzy for Terra caused many others to have the same excitement. Kevin Newby, a former Detroit tech worker, admitted Novogratz was one of the reasons he overcame his initial suspicion of Anchor and put more than $200,000 into it. After the crash in May, he almost lost all his possessions.

“I’ve been thinking about saving for profit every year, then quitting my job and buying a house in Virgin. Even so, the crash left me with nothing. I was forced to go back to normal life, perfect my background and find a job, “Newby told WSJ.

One of Novogratz’s biggest bets on the Terra community is on March 26, 2021. At that time, he declared that if LUNA cost more than $100 each, he would tattoo its symbol on his arm. In January, when LUNA reached a record $110 per coin, he made his commitment.

“I am officially a LUNAtic,” Mike Novogratz tweeted. “I will howl to the moon to pay my respects to LUNA for giving me something to pay my bills.”

However, after the LUNA incident on May 9, Mike Novogratz fell silent. On his personal page of over 460,000 followers, his latest post was on May 8, although he was already quite active on social media. According to Bloombergs statistics, Novogratz posted 60 posts in January, more than 50 in February and March, and more than 30 in April. By May, he still tweeted regularly every day until May 8.

On May 18, Novogratz reappeared. In a Twitter message, he said, “cryptocurrencies won’t go away,” although the failure of this sector will increase dramatically. After the letter was shared, more than 1,000 questions were asked to Novogratz. Most speak of his confidence in the potential of LUNA – what makes investors listen to hatred. “Do you feel regret and shame when many have lost all their savings?” an account asked. Novogratz did not respond.

Responding to WSJ, Novogratz said he was still optimistic about cryptocurrencies. He said tattoos in his possession were a reminder that he should not trust a problem entirely. “With hindsight, everything was clear to the eye. LUNA tattoos are a constant reminder to me that venture capital needs to demand modesty from me, “Novogratz said.

DISCLAIMER: The Information on this website is provided as general market commentary and does not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to do your own research before investing.

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