During a talk with CNBC reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin at the SALT Conference, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio made the bold prediction that if the top cryptocurrency actually succeeds, regulators will eventually shut down Bitcoin:
“At the end of the day, I believe if it’s really successful, they’re going to finish it. They will try to eliminate it and I believe they will succeed because they have enough methods to do it.”
Dalio also stayed true to his view that the biggest cryptocurrency has no real value and kept repeating the same thing:
“If you look at cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin from a historical perspective, there were a lot of things that didn’t have intrinsic value.”
While Dalio acknowledged that Bitcoin was a “great success” due to its ability to stand the test of time, he also pointed out that governments do not want it to succeed.
The boss of the world’s largest hedge fund pointed to the fact that China and India want to get rid of crypto, noting that El Salvador’s recent foray into Bitcoin will not have a very significant impact either.
Dalio admitted to owning a Bitcoin in May, after years of denying the value of the leading cryptocurrency.
During the conference, the billionaire confirmed that cryptocurrency still remains a part of his portfolio, but noted that a very small percentage of his portfolio is reserved for cryptocurrency relative to gold. This is not surprising, as Dalio has recently stated that he views the yellow metal as a superior store of value over all other options.
Cash: Trash
Dalio, who became famous for calling cash “trash” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, told Sorkin that he still stands by his word.
Dalio advises that all alternatives to the dollar are “worth considering” and that the portfolio should be diversified with alternatives other than cash.