Voyager Digital (OTCQB:VYGVF) is a smaller cap that gives investors exposure to the Bitcoin and crypto trading trend at a reasonable valuation. The company offers zero commissions and more coins than its competitors, including the rumored $100 billion market cap Coinbase that's going public soon, Kraken and Gemini. The stock is listed on the OTC market, which is higher risk than the Nasdaq as these stocks tend to be thinly traded.
Voyager is a zero-commission competitor to Robinhood, and due to many PR mishaps, has opened a door for Voyager to become a replacement for customers who seek fewer politics around their crypto trading app.
Voyager also comes with the added benefit of offering 9% interest on stable coins as the company is a consortium for stable coins, including USD Coin (USDC) and Tether's USDT, which have surpassed $7 billion in circulation. As such, it provides exposure to decentralized coins like Bitcoin and stable coins based on the fiat system.
Although I'm personally in favor of decentralized crypto and not stable coins, big tech and the Fed are likely to put immense pressure on adopting stable coins. Voyager allows investors exposure to both at a market cap of $2.18 billion, at time of writing. You can read my Facebook Libra article here where I'm especially against this company entering the stable coin market.
Below we explain what makes Voyager a compelling investment, including what it does, how it makes money, valuation, catalysts, management, and potential risks.
Voyager: Zero Commissions, More Coins
As longtime crypto investors, we know all too well the issues around Coinbase and the other sites. The primary issue is the commissions that Coinbase charges, which are exorbitant, to say the least. To make a $5,000 trade on Coinbase, you will be charged about $80 in commissions. This isn't competitive in an environment where stocks are traded at $0.
Voyager does not charge commissions on crypto trades and offers 9% interest on stable coins. One thing to note is that Voyager does not offer insurance like Gemini, and that our fund does not hold large amounts of crypto on trading platforms. Instead, we store crypto in cold storage wallets and use trading platforms for trading only. We discuss how Voyager makes money below, the differences in crypto platforms and how investors typically store their crypto below.
The fallout with Robinhood over GameStop has created an influx of customers for Voyager. Total revenue growth between December and February was over 1000% from $1.7 million to $20 million in monthly revenue.
Please note, my readers often ask me about the volatility of crypto and my answer to this is that crypto promises to be some of my most volatile investments. Stocks and crypto prices can drop 60% or more - and this has happened since my official coverage on bitcoin when it was priced at $12,000 and saw $4,000 before finding a base. You can read my past coverage here on Bitcoin in the summer of 2019.
Financial Overview
Voyager is on a growth streak fueled by a rise in brand awareness. The company solves one of the more significant pain points for crypto investors, which is commissions. To illustrate, a $5,000 crypto trade on Coinbase can cost as much as $80 with commissions ranging from 1.5% to 4%. This simply isn't competitive enough for Coinbase to retain customers, who like myself, were first attracted to the platform when there were fewer options many years ago.