Ray Dalio, a billionaire hedge fund manager and founder of Bridgewater Associates, said today that he owns some Bitcoin. The announcement came during CoinDesk's Consensus event.
According to Dalio, the U.S. dollar is being devalued, giving rise to an environment that makes Bitcoin much more appealing. "I have some Bitcoin," Dalio announced during an interview which was filmed on May 6.
Dalio is not the only billionaire to turn bullish on Bitcoin. Others like Stanley Druckenmiller have been pro-Bitcoin for several months now. Back in November of last year, Druckenmiller said Bitcoin could have a lot of appeal as a store of value.
During the same month, Dalio suggested that governments could "outlaw" Bitcoin and that this would cap its promise as an asset. In other words, Dalio has had some evolving opinions about the flagship cryptocurrency.
Dalio and Bitcoin
A month later, Dalio's stance softened somewhat as he described Bitcoin as an "interesting" alternative to gold.
In January of this year, two months after suggesting that governments could outlaw Bitcoin, he described the asset as "one hell of an invention," and that Bitcoin would not escape Bridgewater's scrutiny as a potential asset.
Today, Bitcoin remains mired in a significant price crash, following Elon Musk's u-turn on the cryptocurrency and three major payment institutions in China backing the government's ban on crypto. Currently priced at $37,000, Bitcoin is down 18% in the last week, and 35% in the last two weeks.
Positive signs are emerging, however, as Bitcoin remains up by 14% in the last 24 hours.