Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world, is still concerned over the possibility that the government could outlaw cryptocurrencies. Despite the probability that the government could impose sanctions on crypto assets, Dalio believes that Bitcoin truly is digital gold, and owns a certain amount of the cryptocurrency for diversification.
Ray Dalio is currently serving as Bridgewater Associate’s chairman and co-chief investment officer. Being the largest hedge fund company, Bridgewater Associate’s clients include the likes of governmental institutions,s foundations, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds.
Dalio voiced his concerns in an interview last week, stating there was a reasonable chance that the government could outlaw digital assets such as Bitcoin. He highlighted the time when President Roosevelt signed the Gold Reserve Act in 1934, which transferred all the United State’s private gold certificates to the Treasury as an example. According to a 72-year-old billionaire, it would take a major economic or inflationary event to prompt the U.S government to take similar action against crypto assets as President Roosevelt did.
The chairman of Bridgewater Associates stated he owned a small amount of Bitcoin during the interview last week. He did not mention the exact amount but stated he merely own enough of it to diversify his portfolio. Dalio compared Bitcoin to digital gold and added that his Bitcoin holdings were merely for diversification purposes. He acknowledged that he was not aware whether the price of Bitcoin was rising or dipping, stating it was a debatable argument.
The executive of Bridgewater Associates explained the importance of re-evaluating investments, and avoid buying assets that were only performing well in the short term. He advised caution when investing, and added that investments should be diversified around the world, not just focused in the United States.
Even though the hedge fund manager believes that Bitcoin is digital gold, and a hedge against inflation, Dalio added he still preferred gold. He explained that while Bitcoin is a digital version of gold, the metal gold has had a long history of being a store of value.
While Dalio remains concerned over cryptocurrencies being outlawed by the government, the sector is being adopted by a growing number of nations. Some of the world’s largest investment banks are adopting cryptocurrencies including Goldman Sachs, and various companies that work on crypto projects including Paypal, and Fidelity.
