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Faced with growing currency devaluation, institutions are adopting bitcoin as a store of value. Bridgewater Associates’ founder, Ray Dalio, has set aside his skepticism for bitcoin to explore this possibility.
Dalio Applauds Bitcoin
In a recent newsletter, he expressed his admiration for Bitcoin, stating that its longevity is “an amazing accomplishment.”
“To have invented a new type of money via a system that is programmed into a computer and that has worked for around 10 years and is rapidly gaining popularity as both a type of money and a store-hold of wealth is an amazing accomplishment.” He said.
Dalio expects bitcoin and other limited-supply assets like gold to thrive significantly because of the increased printing of fiat currency by federal reserves that makes them less desirable to store value.
… Reveals Concerns Over Possible Government Intervention
Despite his recent admiration, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund is not renowned for pro-bitcoin comments. In a Twitter thread last year, Dalio elicited concerns about bitcoin’s volatility, ability to store wealth, and looming government regulations. He still retains some of these views, as is evident in his recently released newsletter. He elaborated that the government’s desire to control money may cause them to impose strict regulations on bitcoin that could affect its demand, should the digital asset become very successful.
After analyzing some unfavorable scenarios, Dalio concluded that:
“They (bitcoin) paint a picture that is highly uncertain. That is why to me, Bitcoin looks like a long-duration option on a highly unknown future that I could put an amount of money in that I wouldn’t mind losing about 80% of”.
Unveils Bridgewater Associates’ Plan to Hedge Inflation
In an interview with WEF earlier this year, Dalio warned investors against holding cash, advising them to diversify their portfolio instead.
Acting in this regard, Dalio said that Bridgewater Associates are considering alternative means of storing funds to beat currency devaluation. He said that “bitcoin won’t escape their scrutiny” as they expect to offer an alt-cash fund and a store-hold of wealth fund.
If they adopt bitcoin, Bridgewater Associates will join the list of top companies that have embraced it as a primary reserve asset.