Bill Gates Doesn't Own Any Cryptocurrency - Here's Why
Since Bitcoin first burst onto the scene in 2009, cryptocurrency has embarked on a consistent rise in popularity. Now, in 2022, the once novel concept has become one of the hottest obtainable assets in the investment world, with the likes of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor becoming some of the most enthusiastic investors in the game. Still, not everyone share's their confidence in the ever-growing non-regulated finance sector. With a personal wealth of $116 billion, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has no interest in riding the cryptocurrency wave. Here's why:
Crypto's rise and fall
As the curiosity and hype surrounding cryptocurrency began to simmer, Bitcoin, the first and biggest cryptocurrency, skyrocketed in value, going from almost valueless at the start of 2017 to almost $20,000 in value for just one Bitcoin at the end of the year. Still, much like other investments, cryptocurrency couldn't enjoy this honeymoon period for eternity. Reaching its all-time peak value of a little over $60,000 in April 2021, Bitcoin's value has consistently plummeted ever since, with its value falling below the $30,000 in May 2022 — the first time that it has returned to this value in a year. While many skeptics may expect this decline in value to be at the heart of Bill Gates's decision to not place his faith in cryptocurrency, this is actually not the case.
Ask me anything
While he may be a high-profile celebrity, Bill Gates has decided that it would be a good idea to enable his fans as well as other members of the public to reach out and ask questions about him and his work. For this reason, he has become a member of Reddit, using his profile, u/thisisbillgates, to interact with users. Addressing queries on a wide range of topics ranging from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's efforts to stop the COVID pandemic to combatting climate change, he also used this platform to express his views on investments in cryptocurrency.
Gates's view on cryptocurrency
Currently the fourth-richest person in the world, it comes as no surprise that Bill Gates has pursued a wide range of investment opportunities. But while his investment portfolio may be highly diversified, it does not include any cryptocurrencies at all. During one of his "Ask Me Anything" exchanges on Reddit, Gates revealed exactly why he doesn't invest in cryptocurrency. According to Gates, he prefers to focus his investments on companies that create value. “The value of companies is based on how they make great products. The value of crypto is just what some other person decides someone else will pay for it, so not adding to society like other investments,” Gates clarified. Considering his efforts to create socio-economic change, Gates's reason for choosing not to invest in cryptocurrency makes a lot of sense. What's more, the more than $1 trillion in value that cryptocurrencies have lost so far seems to only strengthen his case. That being said, there's another influential billionaire who seems to share Gates's sentiment.
Seeing eye to eye
If there's any business magnate who would be able to verify Gates's skepticism when it comes to cryptocurrency, it's Berkshire Hathaway CEO, Warren Buffett. The fifth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $116.7 billion, Buffet didn't reveal his view on crypto on a public forum, but rather in his own boardroom. During his company's annual meeting in April this year, Buffett revealed that he does not have faith in it for the same reason as Gates. "Whether it goes up or down in the next year, or five or 10 years, I don’t know. But the one thing I’m pretty sure of is that it doesn’t produce anything. It’s got a magic to it and people have attached magics to lots of things,” Buffett declared.