Bitcoin Has Potential But Gold Is Still Better, Says Billionaire Ray Dalio
JAKARTA – Billionaire and founder of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio, shares his views on Bitcoin and gold as hedges. In an interview with the Economic Times, he stated that digital assets have impressive potential today.
The 72-year-old man considered that Bitcoin, which has a limited supply, makes BTC similar to a hedge against inflation so that the digital asset can be accepted by various groups and the global community. In terms of hedging, Bitcoin has a position like gold.
Even so, Dalio added that the central bank does not make Bitcoin a reserve asset. Because the central bank sees a number of problems in Bitcoin including privacy issues and prohibitions in various countries.
“Still, there is a problem with them. Transactions can be tracked so privacy is an issue. They can be controlled, they can be closed, they can be made illegal which tends to take advantage of the times when they might be a threat to alternative currencies. So, I don't think it will be used as a central bank reserve for various reasons,” said Dalio.
Nonetheless, Dalio believes that investors should have digital assets like Bitcoin in their portfolios, noting that gold does a better job of hedging against inflation.
He also argues that Bitcoin's total market value is less than Microsoft's, which makes it less desirable to hold wealth than gold. Seeing the potential of digital assets, the billionaire is optimistic about the growth of the crypto industry in the next 10 years.
“I think the environment we are in is one where there is a risk of political confiscation or some other form of confiscation. I think gold does a better job but like I said, we are entering this new environment and it can include NFT and all sorts of things. It is a competitor but I think in terms of quality, not a good competitor… But we will think about it. This will develop over the next 5 to 10 years,” concluded Dalio.
Dalio further explained that this is part of the changing global economic environment. Therefore, he advised investors to buy a number of assets including crypto, gold and traditional assets.
"I think it's a mistake for anyone to only have one, like choosing a digital currency and not having gold or just having gold and not having a digital currency," he said, quoted by Bitcoin.com News.