In a CNBC interview, Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, believes that regulators will eventually control Bitcoin if the leading cryptocurrency achieves mainstream success.
Bridgewater Associates Chairman Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio: Regulators would ultimately take control of Bitcoin
“I think at the end of the day, if it’s successful, they will kill it, and they will try to kill it. And I think they will kill it because they have ways of killing it,” Dalio told Andrew Ross Sorkin Wednesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” at the SALT conference in New York.
At the moment, US regulators have increased their scrutiny of the volatile crypto market. In particular, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said that Wall Street’s top regulator is working overtime to create a set of rules to protect investors through regulation better for thousands of new digital assets and coins.
Despite some strong volatility, Bitcoin price has been quite successful so far. The cryptocurrency has more than quadrupled in the past 12 months and is finally around $47,500. It hit a high above $60,000 earlier this year.
“You have El Salvador taking on it, and you have India and China getting rid of it. And you have the United States talking about how to regulate it, and it could still be controlled,” Dalio said.
As AZCoin News reported in June, El Salvador is on track to become the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender and reserve asset. El Salvador’s president revealed at the ongoing Bitcoin 2021 Conference in Miami about these plans.
President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele: “Next week I will send to congress a bill that will make #bitcoin a legal tender.” pic.twitter.com/COkofqR3su
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) June 5, 2021
Recently, the government has bought $10 million of Bitcoin (200 BTC). The purchase was made in preparation for the country’s plans to make the cryptocurrency legal tender on September 7. Meanwhile, India is expected to propose legislation banning cryptocurrencies and penalizing miners and traders. China has begun cracking down on crypto markets, requiring miners to shut down their operations.
According to Dalio, Bitcoin doesn’t have intrinsic value, meaning the asset lacks fundamental and objective worth.
“There are so many things in a historical perspective that didn’t have intrinsic value and had perceived value. And then it went hot, and it became cold. It could be either way. You just have to know what it is. It could be Tulips in Holland,” Dalio said.
However, the billionaire investor said BTC is a good alternative to cash, and he owns a smaller percentage of digital tokens than the gold in his portfolio.
“I think it’s worth considering all the alternatives to cash and all the alternatives to the other financial assets. Bitcoin is a possibility. I have a certain amount of money in Bitcoin,” Dalio said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment to have brought it from where that programming occurred to where it is through the test of time.”
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