Steven Cohen Isn’t Going to Miss “Incredibly Transformational” Crypto While Ray Dalio Finds Bitcoin as an Alternative to Cash

Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, reiterated that he owns some Bitcoin but expressed concern that there’s a danger of governments destroying the cryptocurrency market.

On CNBC during the SALT conference in New York, Dalio said,

“I think at the end of the day if it's really successful … they will try to kill it. And I think they will kill it because they have ways of killing it.”

His comments came as US regulators are looking to increase oversight on the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market. Just this week, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said that the top securities regulator is working overtime and crafting rules to bolster regulation of crypto assets.

It, however, wasn’t the first time that Dalio raised concerns about political government action against Bitcoin. Previously he said that the government could ban the cryptocurrency as they would want to clamp down on alternative currencies that could challenge the dominance of the US dollar.

He further said that while El Salvador has become the world’s first nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, India and China are “getting rid of it” while the US is talking about how to regulate it, so overall, “it could still be controlled,” Dalio said.

“It Could Be Tulips In Holland”

According to Dalio, cryptocurrencies represent diversification which “is a good thing,” noting portfolios need to be spread across more asset classes.

Dalio yet again called cash trash and warned that investors shouldn’t become too reliant on it. And he thinks Bitcoin is a good alternative to cash.

“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.”

“It’s an amazing accomplishment to have brought it from where that programming occurred to where it is through the test of time.”

However, he also said that the leading cryptocurrency lacks intrinsic value or fundamental and objective worth. Then he likened it to the tulip bubble saying, in a historical perspective, there are many things that didn’t have any intrinsic value but had perceived value and went hot and cold.

“You just have to know what it is. It could be tulips in Holland.”

According to CNBC, Dalio owns a smaller percentage of bitcoin compared to gold holdings in his portfolio.

Not Going To Miss This

SALT conference host Anthony Scaramucci’s alternative investment firm, SkyBridge’s co-chief investment officer, Ray Nolte, meanwhile said at the event that they have a 12% investment in bitcoin.

Earlier this week at the conference, billionaire investor Steven Cohen also said that he hopes to not miss out on opportunities presented by digital currencies.

Cohen, the founder of Point72 Asset Management, shared that he was a bit of a skeptic when it came to cryptos until recently when his son, a “cryptomaniac,” helped change his mind.

“Once I decided there were opportunities, and I thought this could be a space like the internet — it could be incredibly transformational — I wasn’t going to miss this.”

Cohen, who has a net worth of $11.1 billion, is venturing deeper into the crypto world in both personal capacity and at his firm. He is also interested in the metaverse where “your mind can run wild.”