Andrew Keys, co-founder of the Ethereum-focused investment vehicle The Ether Machine, contends that investing in Ether rather than Bitcoin over the past decade would have yielded significantly greater returns.
Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Keys stated: “The price of Ether per Bitcoin has improved substantially over the last decade. Had one invested in Ether from its inception… return has increased roughly 30 times.”
Keys chairs “The Ether Machine,” a nascent company planning an initial public offering (IPO) via a reverse merger with SPAC Dynamix Corp. Its backing includes over 400,000 ETH—currently valued at approximately $1.5 billion—which positions it to become the premier institutional Ethereum investment vehicle.
Market Position
- The Ether Machine’s ETH stake surpasses holdings by Bitmine ($300k ETH) and SharpLink ($280k ETH).
- Ethereum’s dominance stems from its role as the primary host for tokenized assets, benefiting significantly from proposed stablecoin regulations, Keys argued, likening its network effect to Google’s search dominance.
“Ethereum is experiencing power law dynamics where 90% of tokenized assets are deployed on Ethereum, similar to the power law dynamics of Google where 90% of searches happen with Google.”
Different Pasts
The comparison between Ether and Bitcoin overlooks key temporal differences:
- Bitcoin launched in 2009; its first traded price recorded at $0.05.
- Ethereum debuted in 2015 (Bitcoin already trading around $280). ETH averaged $1.60 post-launch and has appreciated over 236,837%.
- Bitcoin achieved approximately 234 million % cumulative growth from inception, while Ether’s appreciation figure was tripled by Keys’ initial (later corrected) claim.
Recent Trajectories
Recent performance diverges:
- Bitcoin recently set a new all-time high (~78% gain since 2021 peak).
- Ethereum remains ~23% below its 2021 peak, trading sideways since 2022.
Upcoming Listing & Market Signals
The Ether Machine will trade on Nasdaq following its merger with Dynamix Corp. Exchange veteran Jeff Mei indicated strong investor rotation recently bolstering Ether’s price.
Related: Ethereum investors pile into ETH amid massive weekly surge
Also See: Bitcoin OG Willy Woo has sold most of his Bitcoin: Here’s why
The firm aims to provide institutional access to the Ethereum market with a substantial funding base.
