Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio says Bitcoin is not the answer; the community responds

The billionaire has historically gone back and forth between having positive and negative sentiments around Bitcoin.

While billionaire Ray Dalio believes that fiat is in jeopardy, he also thinks that neither Bitcoin (BTC) nor stablecoins are the answer. In response, crypto community members took to Twitter to express their opinion on the topic. 

In a recent interview on CNBC’s Squawk, Dalio shared his takes on Bitcoin being a potential solution to the problems with fiat currency. The billionaire argued that it would not be effective as a store holder of wealth and a medium of exchange. Dalio also highlighted that stablecoins are a replica of state-backed currencies and would also not be an effective form of money.

Bitcoiners were quick to respond to the interview, commenting that Bitcoin already fits Dalio’s description of what money should be. A community member tweeted:

A community member’s thoughts on the topic. Source: Twitter

Additionally, a Twitter user cited various inherent features of Bitcoin and pointed out that it’s the solution Dalio is looking for. According to the community member, Bitcoin’s censorship resistance, neutrality, openness, limited supply and freedom from control make it the answer to the monetary problem that Dalio described. 

Meanwhile, another Bitcoin community member said that they were “orange pilled” by Dalio from his insights on the history of money. The Twitter user believes that the interview shows that the billionaire is close to “truly understanding Bitcoin.“

Related: Billionaire Ray Dalio ‘impressed’ how Bitcoin survived the last decade

Dalio has historically gone back and forth regarding his position on Bitcoin. In 2021, he went from describing Bitcoin as “one hell of an invention” to a more negative narrative, speaking of a potential ban on Bitcoin in the United States and saying that he would choose gold over Bitcoin.

In 2022, the billionaire recommended a 1% to 2% Bitcoin allocation for investor portfolios. Back then, Dalio praised BTC for its resilience against hacks and said that it has no better competitor in the market.

Fiat is in ‘jeopardy’ but Bitcoin, stablecoins aren’t the answer either: Ray Dalio

The hedge fund manager instead wants to see an “inflation-linked coin” be brought to the masses which would serve to ensure consumers secure their buying power.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio has described fiat currency as being in serious “jeopardy” as an effective store of wealth but doesn’t believe Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins will be the solution either.

The founder of hedge fund firm Bridgewater Associates explained on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Feb. 2 that the mass money printing of the United States dollar and other reserve currencies has him questioning whether they are forms of “effective money.”

“We are in a world in which money as we know it is in jeopardy. We are printing too much, and it’s not just the United States, it is all the reserve currencies.”

However, Dalio was quick to add his thoughts on whether Bitcoin was a potential solution, acknowledging that despite what it has accomplished in “12 years,” it is still too volatile to serve as money:

“It’s not going to be an effective money. It’s not an effective store holder of wealth. It’s not an effective medium of exchange,” he argued.

He also dismissed stablecoins as an effective form of money, as they are replica of state-backed fiat currency.

Instead, Dalio proposed the creation of an “inflation-linked coin” that would serve to ensure consumers secure their buying power.

“The closest thing to that is an inflation index bond, but if you created a coin that says OK this is buying power that I know I can save in and put my money in over a period of time and transact in anywhere, I think that would be a good coin,” he said.

“So I think you’re going to see the development of coins that you haven’t seen that probably will end up being attractive, viable coins. I don’t think Bitcoin is it,” he added.

However, not everyone agreed with Dalio’s take on Bitcoin and the viability of an inflation-linked coin.

Digital asset manager Eric Weiss of Bitcoin for Family Officers was one, telling his 38,300 Twitter followers that such a coin could not exist:

“According to Ray, [Bitcoin] is very close to being the solution to the world’s problems but it’s too volatile. He’s waiting for and vaguely describes a solution that doesn’t and can’t exist,” said Weiss.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood also had a different view of Bitcoin, referring to it as a defense against wealth confiscation in parts of the developing world:

“Those populations need a fallback, an insurance policy like Bitcoin,” she said.

Related: Crypto-friendly Ray Dalio steps back from Bridgewater’s $150M fund

Dalio’s latest views on Bitcoin come despite once having labeled it “one hell of an invention” that could serve as a viable inflation hedge. However, these remarks were made on Jan. 28, 2021 — before the current bear market took effect.

The billionaire investor has also previously recommended BTC should make up 1-2% of an investors portfolio on Jan. 6, 2022.

As an investment product, the hedge fund manager said back in May 2021 that he would rather buy BTC over bonds but stated a few months later that he still prefers gold.

On Oct. 4, Dalio stepped down as Bridgewater’s co-chief investment officer, but he remained on board as a mentor.

Bitcoin price threatens $19.6K as Ray Dalio predicts 30% stocks crash

The aftermath of the Ethereum Merge gives no respite to crypto bulls, who face continued market pressure as stocks also trend down.

Bitcoin (BTC) attempted to violate local lows on Sep. 16 as the latest cross-crypto downtrend intensified.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView

No relief for BTC bulls post Merge

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD approaching $19,600 at the time of writing, with buyer support just avoiding a further drop.

The level had remained in place as an intraday floor as the Ethereum Merge concluded, only to spark a sell-off, which took Ether (ETH)/BTC toward three-week lows.

ETH/BTC 1-day candle chart (Binance). Source: TradingView

Amid the gloomy mood, traders and analysts showed little inclination to reassess their market outlooks.

“I feel confident with the scenario of quick pump to 23k on BTC and 1800 on ETH and big dump from there,” Il Capo of Crypto wrote, reiterating a long-held theory:

“Time will tell.”

Warning that the situation “doesn’t look good,” meanwhile, popular account CryptoBullet demanded a reclaim of the 100-period moving average (MA) to flip bullish on the 4-hour chart.

Fed rate hikes will see stocks tumble — Dalio 

After a further day of losses on United States equities, meanwhile, investor Ray Dalio drew some fresh bearish conclusions about what the current inflationary climate would mean for the markets.

Related: Ethereum traders shorted ETH price in record numbers during the Merge — 50% crash ahead?

In his latest blog post published on Sep. 13, Dalio predicted the combined damage to stocks would cost them 30% of their current valuation.

“The rise in interest rates will have two types of negative effects on asset prices: 1) the present value discount rate and 2) the decline in incomes produced by assets because of the weaker economy. We have to look at both,” he explained:

“What are your estimates for these? I estimate that a rise in rates from where they are to about 4.5 percent will produce about a 20 percent negative impact on equity prices (on average, though greater for longer duration assets and less for shorter duration ones) based on the present value discount effect and about a 10 percent negative impact from declining incomes.”

That would spell danger across highly-correlated crypto markets, with Bitcoin thus taking aim at levels closer to $10,000.

As Cointelegraph reported, that number is currently no stranger to long-term forecasters’ radar.

The Federal Reserve is tipped to enact a further 75-basis-point interest rate hike at next week’s meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC), with some market participants even expecting 100 basis points, according to data from the CME FedWatch Tool.

Fed target rate probabilities chart. Source: CME Group

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