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Bill Gates' Views on Cryptocurrency

03 August 2022 08:20, UTC
Odero Kester

Bill Gates can be described as a risk-averse investor, and he has spoken out against investing in cryptocurrency in the past. In 2018, he said that "Bitcoin is better than currency" but cautioned that it is "not a great investment tool." It's possible that Gates' views on cryptocurrency have changed since then, but it's also likely that he still doesn't see it as a wise investment.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the billionaire expressed concern for regular people getting sucked into the Bitcoin frenzy. Most likely, he is correct. The crypto market is in rapid decline after the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, bringing down other digital currencies with it. The millionaire co-founder of Microsoft said the phenomenon is "100% based on greater fool theory," which holds that overpriced goods will increase in value when there are enough buyers ready to pay more for them, at a TechCrunch discussion on climate change. Gates made light of the much-talked-about Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection by joking that "expensive digital photos of monkeys" would "better the world greatly." Tokens known as NFTs cannot be traded for one another. They are frequently promoted as a technique to establish ownership of digital goods like works of art or sports memorabilia. Critics, however, believe that because cryptocurrencies are energy-intensive, they are overhyped and may even be bad for the environment.

Why has Gates not invested in cryptocurrency

There are a few reasons why Gates may not want to invest in cryptocurrency. First, a great deal of volatility is associated with the asset class. Cryptocurrencies can fluctuate wildly in value, making them a risky investment. This kind of volatility would likely be off-putting to an investor like Gates. Gates has made it clear that he prefers to invest in companies and industries that are more stable and predictable.

Another reason Gates may not want to invest in cryptocurrency is the lack of regulation. Cryptocurrencies are not subject to the same laws and regulations as traditional investments, making them riskier. In the past, Gates has spoken out against investing in unregulated companies, and it's likely that he feels the same way about cryptocurrencies. He believes this poses a risk in that it could enable criminal activity.

Thirdly, Gates may not want to invest in cryptocurrency because of its energy consumption. Cryptocurrency mining is an energy-intensive process, leading to criticism of the industry. Gates has spoken out about the need for more renewable energy sources, and he may not want to support an industry that consumes a large amount of energy.

A fourth one – cryptocurrency is still a relatively new and unproven technology. While it has the potential to revolutionize the financial system, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding its long-term viability. Gates may wait for the dust to settle before making any moves in this space. He continued that cryptocurrency doesn't contribute to society like other assets since their worth is determined by what someone else is willing to pay for them. He claims this is because there is no intrinsic value, like a company that earns money or a commodity like gold. This further explained that because most crypto is used to buy other things, Gates doesn't see how it could create anything new.

Fifth, Gates has said that he doesn't think cryptocurrency is an excellent way to store value. In an interview with CNBC in 2018, Gates said, "Bitcoin is one of the crazier speculative things." He went on to claim that "it doesn't have the characteristics of a currency." This suggests that Gates doesn't believe cryptocurrency is a good investment because it doesn't have the same properties as traditional currencies. In addition, Gates wrote, "The value of companies is based on how they make great products," about this, we could say that since there is still a lot of development and innovation needed for blockchain and cryptocurrency to be where it needs to be for it to shine genuinely, it may not be the ideal investment opportunity at this time.

Other reasons that could have brought this decision by BG may be the concerns over data security and manipulation that still needs to be addressed. Finally, Gates is already worth billions of dollars, so he may not feel the need to take on additional risk by investing in cryptocurrency. He can afford to wait and see how the market develops before deciding whether or not to get involved. So while we can't say for sure why Bill Gates has not invested in cryptocurrency, it is likely due to a combination of factors, including its volatility, lack of regulation, and energy consumption.

In short, Bill Gates is not investing in cryptocurrency because he feels it is a risky and unproven technology. He has also spoken out against the industry's high energy consumption and lack of regulation. Gates' views on cryptocurrency may have changed since 2018, but it's also likely that he still doesn't see it as a wise investment – it seems likely that his decision is based on a combination of risk aversion and caution. Given his track record as an investor, it's hard to argue with his approach.