Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has revealed that he owns bitcoin despite concerns he has long voiced about governments interfering and even outlawing cryptocurrencies. The boss of the world’s largest hedge fund said “bitcoin’s greatest risk is its success.”
Ray Dalio Got Bitcoin
Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has revealed that he owns bitcoin. In an interview at the Consensus 2021 conference, which was recorded on May 6 but released Monday, he said:
I have some bitcoin.
Dalio is the co-founder and chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, whose clients include endowments, governments, foundations, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds.
Emphasizing that bitcoin is still small and not a threat to governments, he noted that if it succeeds, “one of the great things, I think, as a worry is the government having the capacity to control … bitcoin, or digital currencies. They know where they are, and they know what’s going on.”
He continued: “The more we create savings in [bitcoin], the more you might say, ‘I’d rather have bitcoin than the bond’ … And then the more that happens, then it goes into bitcoin and it doesn’t go into credit, then [governments] lose control of that.” Dalio also said, “Personally, I’d rather have bitcoin than a bond.”
As for the greatest risk he sees bitcoin facing, the Bridgewater Associates boss said:
I think bitcoin’s greatest risk is its success.
Dalio has come a long way on bitcoin and cryptocurrency. In November last year, he admitted that he may be wrong about bitcoin and wanted to learn more about the cryptocurrency. By December, he had learned enough to say that he saw BTC as a gold alternative. In January, he said bitcoin was “one hell of an invention.”
However, throughout it all, he warned that the government could restrict bitcoin investments, such as by imposing “shocking” taxes. He believes that there is a “good probability” that governments will outlaw bitcoin and that bitcoin’s success would bring about tough regulation.
What do you think about Ray Dalio buying bitcoin while warning about a government ban? Let us know in the comments section below.
