Crypto projects like NFTs ‘based on the greater-fool theory’

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) founder Bill Gates has extended his criticism of cryptocurrencies, dismissing projects such as non-fungible tokens (NFT) over what he termed as a lack of real-world utility. 

Speaking during a climate conference on June 14, the billionaire reiterated that asset classes should be able to produce actual output while referencing the greater fool theory.

“Obviously, expensive digital images of monkeys are going to improve the world immensely<…> I’m used to asset classes like a farm where they have output or a company where they make products<…> I’m not involved in that. I’m not long or short,” said Gates. 

The theory, widely used in finance circles, suggests that investors can sometimes make money by purchasing overvalued assets only if those assets can later be resold at an even higher price.

Cryptocurrency shortcomings 

Furthermore, Gates blasted the crypto sector’s shortcomings, like the ability to facilitate vices like crime and bypassing tax rules, while confirming he is not involved in the industry due to its speculative nature.

He noted that the value of companies is based on how they make great products and not how others view them. 

Gates disagrees with Elon Musk on crypto

Following the recent growth of the crypto sector, Gates has criticized fellow billionaire and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) founder Elon Musk for promoting different crypto projects to retail investors who don’t understand the risks. 

According to Gates, individuals should enter crypto only if they have capital like Musk. 

But his stance appears more pertinent, especially with the crypto sector facing criticism over failed projects like the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem crash that saw millions of investors lose significant amounts of money. 

Notably, Gates has backed the digital banking space, where he is an investor, stating that the sector is better than cryptocurrencies.

His criticism comes as the cryptocurrency market continues to tumble, led by Bitcoin, which has plunged in value by over 10% in the last 24 hours, trading at $20,200 by press time.