The World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which began on May 22 and closes on May 26, has dominated the news this week. Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, spoke at the event about the current state of the economy, the Federal Reserve, cash, and cryptocurrencies.
Ray Dalio Speaks About Cryptocurrencies
Dalio previously commented about the future of money in February, predicting that cryptocurrency will be “outlawed, probably by different governments.” Dalio is currently in Davos, Switzerland, where he is meeting with world leaders, economists, and financial giants. In an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin on the broadcast Squawk Box, the founder of Bridgewater Associates spoke extensively on different parts of the economy.
Dalio spoke about the future of money and the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policies once more. The hedge fund manager feels the Fed has no choice but to sell. “The Federal Reserve will sell, individuals will sell, foreigners will sell, and the United States government will sell because it needs to fund its deficit,” according to an excerpt from Dalio’s interview. “There will be a supply/demand problem, which will result in a squeeze,” he continued.
Dalio’s view is pessimistic, and he’s not the only one in Davos at the World Economic Forum who believes the world economy is under siege. Reuters correspondent Dan Burns highlighted specific risks such as the Ukraine-Russia war, Covid-19, and food shortages while reporting from the WEF multi-day meeting.
At the WEF event, the founder of Bridgewater Associates stated that cash is currently trash. “Of course, cash is still trash,” Dalio told a reporter from CNBC. The hedge fund executive inquired, “Do you know how quickly you’re losing buying power in cash?” Dalio went on to explain what he meant when he said cash is trash.
“When I say cash is trash,” Dalio clarified, “I mean all currencies in relation to the euro, in relation to the yen.” “All of those currencies, like those of the 1930s, will depreciate in relation to goods and services.” Dalio discussed cryptocurrencies as a type of digital gold in Davos, in addition to discussing currencies and currency.
“Cryptocurrencies in particular – I think blockchain’s great,” Dalio said to the host of CNBC’s broadcast Squawk Box. “But let’s call it a digital gold. I think a digital gold, which would be a bitcoin kind of thing, is something that—probably in the interest of diversification of finding an alternative to gold—has a little spot relative to gold and then relative to other assets.”
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Dalio: Bitcoin Constitutes Tiny Percentage of My Portfolio
Dalio also mentioned during the interview that he holds a small investment in Bitcoin. While Dalio has not revealed the quantity of his Bitcoin holdings, he has previously advocated for investing up to 2% of one’s portfolio to Bitcoin.
He reiterated that Bitcoin had made enormous progress over the previous 11 years, but underlined the significance of diversity.
Dalio is far from a Bitcoin cheerleader, but his views on cryptocurrencies have shifted substantially since Davos 2020, which occurred just before the pandemic. The famed investor maintained at the time that Bitcoin was not money since it did not serve as a store of value or a medium of trade.
His crypto rhetoric mellowed over time. Dalio stated last May that he eventually made a small personal investment in Bitcoin.
Total crypto market cap stands at $1.2 Trillion. Source: TradingView
He clarified that he prefers gold to Bitcoin because of the latter’s track record.
According to Dalio, we are currently in a period where people are experimenting with new money forms. All currencies, he says, will depreciate in proportion to goods and services.
While Dalio has personally invested in bitcoin (BTC) since May 2021, four sources told crypto reporters Danny Nelson and Ian Allison in March 2021 that Bridgewater Associates would use a “small slug of their fund deployed directly into digital assets.” In the same month, the billionaire investor and hedge fund manager told the globe that he believes governments will impose taxes on cryptocurrencies that will be “more shocking than expected.”
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Featured image from Getty images , chart from TradingView.com