Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio expressed skepticism Thursday that central banks will consider holding Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as a reserve currency, citing privacy concerns.
Dalio Speaks On Bitcoin’s Perception As ‘Alternate Money’
Dalio took to X, sharing an older clip from the Master Investor Podcast in which he weighed on Bitcoin’s role as a form of money.
“I doubt that any central bank will take it on as a reserve currency,” the Bridgewater Associates founder said. “That's because all of the transactions are public, so there's no privacy to it, and there's a risk that in the future the code could be broken to make it less effective through government controls.”
Dalio emphasized that while he couldn’t definitively comment on Bitcoin’s effectiveness, its perception as an “alternative money” makes it noteworthy.
“My personal approach is that I do have some Bitcoin in my portfolio, but not much,” he revealed.
The Counter-Viewpoint
Cryptocurrency analyst and author Adam Livingston countered Dalio’s arguments, stating that Bitcoin’s transparency is a feature and not a flaw.
“Public auditability eliminates the very opacity that let shadow banking implode in 2008,” Livingston said.
He labeled the “code could be broken” narrative as a “hand-waved FUD,” stating that Bitcoin’s SHA-256 algorithm, used for mining and verifying transactions, was yet to be broken despite global bounty initiatives.
Dalio Sees Cryptos As Alternative To Struggling Fiat
Dalio’s comments come in the wake of his previous statements, where he suggested that cryptocurrencies could serve as an ‘attractive alternative’ to struggling fiat currencies. He reasoned that if the supply of dollar money rises or its demand falls, cryptocurrencies could emerge as an appealing alternative.
Earlier in July, he advised a 15% portfolio allocation to Bitcoin or gold, citing potential currency devaluation risks and mounting U.S. debt concerns.
The veteran investor previously expressed a strong preference for gold over Bitcoin, describing the precious metal as the "purest play" for a store of value.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $120,046.94, up 1.24% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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