Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates and one of the world’s most influential macro investors, said he has only invested “a small percentage” in Bitcoin and that the asset still faces serious structural hurdles to becoming a global reserve currency.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Dalio reiterated his years-long cautious stance, stating that Bitcoin carries technical and geopolitical risks. Despite this, he said he continues to allocate a very small portion of his portfolio to it:
“About 1% of my portfolio is Bitcoin… I’ve been holding it for a long time.”
The statements come as Bitcoin has fallen below $90,000 amid heightened macro uncertainty following the U.S. government’s failure to release October employment data. Dalio reiterated Bitcoin’s fundamental limitations as volatility in crypto markets severely tested investors’ risk appetite.
Dalio argued that Bitcoin’s transparent nature makes it unsuitable as a reserve currency for major economies:
“There will be no reserve currency for major countries because it can be tracked.”
The renowned investor also reiterated his warning that rapidly developing computing power, and quantum computing in particular, could threaten Bitcoin’s long-term security:
“It can be controlled and hacked with quantum computers… There is this possibility.”
While Dalio has described Bitcoin as “digital gold” in the past, he believes regulatory pressures and technological risks make it difficult for the asset to achieve a fundamental role in the global monetary system.
Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, has frequently warned that governments could suppress Bitcoin by 2021:
“If he’s really successful, they’ll kill him. And there are ways to kill him.”
However, towards the end of 2021, he adopted a softer tone, acknowledging Bitcoin’s resilience:
“Bitcoin has proven itself. It hasn’t been hacked, it has stood the test of time.”
*This is not investment advice.