Wednesday, April 4 at 8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Asia Society New York
725 Park Ave, New York, New York 10021

Breakfast available from 8:00 am | Discussion begins at 8:30 am

It’s one of the most intriguing yet poorly-understood trends of our time: the creation and growth of Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency. The surge of interest in cryptocurrencies has been met with everything from wild enthusiasm to government clampdowns, resulting in dramatic and frequent price fluctuations. The huge upswings haven’t impressed skeptics and the precipitous drops in value have not dissuaded the true believers.

In Asia, meanwhile, different countries have responded in very different ways to the rise of interest in cryptocurrencies — and indeed it may be that the greatest swings in both valuation and opinion may come from that part of the world. Why have Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies drawn so much attention? What will the future bring — short-term and long-term? Join us for a special edition of the “Asia Briefing” series, featuring a conversation with Michael Novogratz, long-time investor and CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, a diversified merchant bank dedicated to the digital currency and blockchain sectors.

Speakers:
Michael Novogratz is the CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners. He was formerly a principal and a member of the board of directors of Fortress Investment Group LLC and Chief Investment Officer of the Fortress Macro Fund. Mr. Novogratz joined Fortress in 2002 after spending 11 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was elected partner in 1998. Mr. Novogratz founded and serves as the Chairman of the Board for Beat the Streets, a non-profit organization which builds wrestling programs in New York City public schools and is also the Honorary Chairman of USA Wrestling Foundation.

Tom Nagorski became Executive Vice President of the Asia Society following a three-decade career in journalism — having served most recently as Managing Editor for International Coverage at ABC News. Before that, he was Foreign Editor for ABC’s World News Tonight, and a reporter and producer based in Russia, Germany, and Thailand. Nagorski was the recipient of eight Emmy awards and the Dupont Award for excellence in international coverage, as well as a fellowship from the Henry Luce Foundation from Princeton University in 1984.