Bitcoin has come a long way in it’s 10 years in existence—just not quite far enough, according to billionaire investor Mark Cuban.
In a recent Q&A with Wired, Cuban laid into Bitcoin, saying it has “no intrinsic value,” among other unsavory things. In fact, Cuban said he’d rather hold bananas and baseball cards over Bitcoin, since he can collect cards and, er, eat the bananas when hungry. And, well, you just can’t say that about Bitcoin—or something.
But Cuban’s biggest problem with Bitcoin is that it’s just too complicated, he said. And for that reason, it’ll never go mainstream, claims the NBA franchise owner:
“Crypto is so complicated for 99 percent of the population. Do you put it in a device? Do you print it out? How do you keep from being hacked, and who’s going to host it for you?” posited the billionaire tech entrepreneur who, evidently, finds new tech to be too much of a hassle for your average Joes.
Of course, Cuban isn’t the only billionaire with not-so-nice things to say about Bitcoin. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has for years had his share of nasty comments to dole out. In an interview with CNBC last year, Buffett called Bitcoin a “fraud” and “worthless, artificial gold.” And even the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who is himself (allegedly) a billionaire is no fan of Bitcoin either.
Last summer, Trump took to Twitter to make his feelings about crypto known. “I am not a fan of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air. Unregulated crypto assets can facilitate unlawful behavior,” Trump said in a series of tweets.
Nevertheless, for those looking for a silver lining in Cuban’s anti-Bitcoin remarks, he did admit to finding promise in Bitcoin’s underlying technology, and even compared Bitcoin to gold!
“I say it’s like gold,” Cuban said. “Gold is a religion.”
Yikes. Never mind—that’s probably not what Bitcoiners wanted to hear.