When it comes to cryptocurrencies, there are two major factions. On one side, some people think that Bitcoin is not a reliable store of value. Others are Bitcoiners who believe in crypto and do not hesitate to raise their stakes in it. There are others like Ray Dalio, who has been on both sides. Up until last year, Dalio said about Bitcoin that it was neither a store of value nor a good enough exchange medium.
However, this year owing to the rapidly growing popularity of the crypto markets, Dalio, head of Bridgewater Associates, decided to delve into some fact-checking and research. Now, Dalio has not only become a Bitcoin proponent, but he has also invested in the flagship cryptocurrency in a personal capacity. At the CoinDesk’s conference, he showed off his Bitcoin stash.
Dalio’s Optimistic and Pessimistic Outlook for Bitcoin as a Currency Alternative and Trade Commodity
Since the beginning of the year, Dalio has admitted that he does not know much about Bitcoin. At Texas A&M’s Bitcoin conference, he claimed that Bitcoin is one hell of an invention. Later on, he added that Bitcoin is the perfect replacement for gold. Recently he has claimed that fiat has been constantly devalued for 500 years, and during the current circumstances, it seems it has reached the end of its life cycle.
He also added that Bitcoin is a great store of value, and he would prefer investing in Bitcoin in comparison to the government bonds. While Dalio has not revealed that how much Bitcoin he owns, he has also been making a doomsday call for Bitcoin for a long time. Under his capacity as a Bitcoiner, he has claimed time and again that the US government would move to regulate or ban Bitcoin from controlling its increasing impact or from stopping it from replacing the centralized monetary system.
Other Billionaire Getting On and Off Bitcoin Bandwagon
Perhaps the most noteworthy departure from the Bitcoin community is Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Recently, Tesla has retracted its support from Bitcoin and claimed that due to the fossil fuel redundancy, it would look at other crypto options. One contrasting example from Musk is Finance Minister of France, Bruno Le Maire. He is among the people like Dalio, who started as Bitcoin cynics but later on transitioned into Bitcoin investors in their own right.
Another such example is the Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, who was not a fan of Bitcoin, but he later joined the Bitcoin bandwagon and amended his critical views about crypto in general. Meanwhile, on the whole, it seems that Dalio’s warnings about the government crackdown on Bitcoin are not further from the truth. In an interview, the SEC chief has recently said that SEC is preparing to bring in more crypto laws and regulations to make way for the crypto regulations in the region.