Although he doesn't generate the same amount of headlines and emotions as other billionaire tech founders and CEOs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, Tobias Lutke of Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP) is quite impressive in terms of being an independent thinker and company builder in his own right. He has also been open in sharing his views online which has resulted in him building his own audience and following.
His insights are also worth paying attention to due to the incredible success of Shopify which has reached heights that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Lutke's insight was that Shopify wouldn't compete directly with Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), instead, it would arm the 'rebels' that were attempting to take on Amazon's 'mother ship'. Therefore, Shopify's success is dependent on the merchants that use it, and the company is incentivized to grow its revenues.
Lutke was able to imagine an Internet with millions of merchants rather than just a handful. And, it's because of companies like Shopify that give them the ability to compete with multinationals like Amazon and Walmart (NYSE: WMT).
So, it's interesting and noteworthy that he continues to believe in crypto and putting his money where his mouth is in terms of his personal fortune and Shopify. For one, he has been an aggressive buyer of Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) stock to the tune of about $370,000 per week since August. This type of patient accumulation is a sign of long-term confidence and an indication that Lutke believes in crypto's commercial potential and Coinbase's ability to carve out a successful business.
Another indication of Lutke's interest in crypto is that he continues to be an avid purchaser and connoisseur of NFTs as he builds out a collection that he occasionally shows off online. Many people believe that NFTs are a new way to signal status in the online ecosystem, while others have higher ambitions for the asset class.
In terms of Shopify, the company has not really been too much at the forefront of cryptocurrencies although it does accept payment in about 20 different coins. So far, this doesn't make up a meaningful portion of total revenue which is consistent with crypto being more about speculation rather than commercial activity.