Following in the footsteps of Paul Tudor Jones, Jack Dorsey, Michael Saylor and other investment heavyweights, American hedge-fund legend Stan Druckenmiller says he has finally bought some bitcoin, which he sees as the digital version of gold.
He said that bitcoin has become increasingly stable since it was unleashed on the world 13 years ago, and that investing it is now comparable to investing in gold.
“I own many more times gold than I own bitcoin, but frankly, if the gold bet works, the bitcoin bet will probably work better because it’s thinner and more illiquid and has a lot more beta to it,” the billionaire said in a CNBC interview.
He said the market for the leading crypto is going to expand with younger people increasingly seeking a new store of value as the US dollar and other fiat currencies are debased by excess money printing.
“I’m a bit of a dinosaur but I have warmed up the fact that bitcoin could be an asset class that has a lot of attraction as a store of value to both millennials and the new West Coast [tech] money.”
Crypto observers immediately pounced on the news that another Wall Street heavy hitter had jumped on the bitcoin bandwagon, declaring that it was a flashing buy signal for institutional players.
Prominent bitcoin bull Raoul Pal, a former Goldman Sachs hedge-fund manager, tweeted, “The significance of the world’s greatest and most respected money manager – Stan Druckenmiller – saying just now that he is long bitcoin can not be overstated. That has removed every obstacle for any hedge fund or endowment to invest.”
Shakepay was equally excited, tweeting, “First it was Paul Tudor Jones II. Then it was Stan Druckenmiller. Two billionaire hedge fund legends have publicly advocated for Bitcoin in 2020. Only a matter of time before the rest of Wall Street catches up.”
Australian analyst Alex Saunders said the significance of Druckenmiller’s endorsement of bitcoin could not be overstated. He tweeted, “Is this not the greatest #Bitcoin endorsement of all time considering the calibre of Stan Druckenmiller? Why is no one talking about this?!
Druckenmiller is not the first tycoon to compare bitcoin to gold. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor recently said, “Bitcoin isn’t 10x better than gold, it’s 100x, maybe it’s 1,000x better than gold.”