[Insight] 7 Skeptics Who Have Completely Changed Their View Towards Bitcoin
Tags: Skeptics, Changed, Bithumb, Bitcoin, Insight

“Bitcoin is just a bubble,” “Bitcoin is worthless as a store of value,” “Bitcoin is nothing but an index for money laundering.” These are the appraisal for Bitcoin made by the world’s financial experts for the recent few years. The experts showed their pessimistic views towards Bitcoin, saying that it is nothing but a speculative asset and will be gone anytime soon. But recently, many of them are changing their attitudes. Some are partially approving the value of Bitcoin, while others are even admitting that they do invest in Bitcoin. In this article, we would like to introduce 7 of the financial experts who have utterly changed their view towards Bitcoin.

1. Nouriel Roubini, “Bitcoin does partially functioning as a store of value”

Professor Nouriel Roubini of New York University, U.S., is one of the iconic skeptics about Bitcoin. For the last few years, he has shown fierce criticism not only for digital assets but for Blockchain technologies as well. Most notably, when he appeared at the Senate hearing held in 2018, he showed severe criticism by saying, “Bitcoin is nothing but a bubble, and Blockchain is just another overestimated technology.” Furthermore, he added, “Bitcoin is a bubble and a scam like Tulip mania in 17th Century Netherland. So it will fade quickly.”

But now, he has changed his stance. In an interview last month, he said, “Bitcoin has an algorithm that limits the supply to 21 million BTC. So it does partially hold some value as a store of value.” Of course, he is still showing negative opinions towards Bitcoin. He said, “Bitcoin is not a currency for it is not expandable, not stable, and not decentralized.” He forecasted, “It will fall astern by the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) within 3 years.” But it is true that he acknowledged Bitcoin’s potential as a store of value. Even it is a partial approval. For that, Professor Niall Ferguson of Harvard University said, “If I may exaggerate in Roubini’s way, this must be the most dramatic turnabout since the confession of Saint Paul.”

2. Stanley Druckenmiller, “Considering the inflation, Bitcoin is better than Gold”

Stanley Druckenmiller, a well-known billionaire investor, also drew the attention of the field by deserting his former negative stance towards Bitcoin recently. Only last year, he was skeptical about Bitcoin’s reason for existence or its worth as a store of value. But he changed his mind within a year. In an interview with CNBC last month, he said, “As a preparation for inflation, I do prefer Bitcoin rather than gold,” admitting that he is already investing in Bitcoin. In other words, we can say he valued Bitcoin, a ‘Digital gold’ more than actual gold. He also said, “For last 13 years, Bitcoin has proved its worth,” and added, “It is standing out as a new store of value for Millennial Generation,” highly appreciating Bitcoin’s value.

3. Professor Niall Ferguson, “Bitcoin is the victor of the currency revolution of COVID era”

Professor Niall Ferguson of Harvard University was a man who ruthlessly criticized Bitcoin by saying, “The concept of digital currency is an absolute delusion.” But now, he has completely converted from his former stance, even partaking in a Blockchain project called Ampleforth. Recently, he said through a contribution to Bloomberg that “Bitcoin and China are winning in the currency revolution caused by COVID pandemic.” He also sent his high praise by saying, “Digital asset is a proper place for the wealthy class to store their wealth.” He analyzed that Bitcoin is indeed charming for it holds scarcity because of the limited supply and does not require agencies such as banks.

4. CEO of BlackRock, “Bitcoin is a Real one”

Just like Professor Ferguson, Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest management company, BlackRock, was also a person who has shown a negative stance towards Bitcoin. In a forum held in October 2017, he showed his criticism by saying, “Bitcoin is a mere index that shows how much is the demand for money laundering in this entire world.” He referred to Bitcoin only as ‘an index for money laundering.’ But at the Conference held by the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S., he acknowledged the value of Bitcoin by saying, “Many people are showing their enthusiasm towards Bitcoin.” And he also added, “We believe this is a real one.” Furthermore, he held high on Bitcoin’s future value and said, “Bitcoin is occupying just a little part of the entire asset market without any verification.” And in two weeks ago, Rick Rieder, BlackRock’s Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income, said, “It is possible for Bitcoin to replace gold.”

5. CNBC Program Host, “Bitcoin Inheritance is safer than gold”

Jim Cramer, a former fund manager and the host of CNBC’s TV show, Mad Money, underestimated the potential of Bitcoin, even when its cost showed a steep increase in December 2017. He showed a passive stance, saying that Bitcoin cannot replace gold in a short period. As evidence for his statement, he pointed out that Nakamoto Satoshi, the developer of Bitcoin, is unclear, and nobody knows how much the person is holding. Plus, he also indicated the network’s transparency is lacking, and its basis is on the hackable software. But 3 years later, he changed his word and said, “It is logical to invest in digital assets in order to hedge inflation.” He also added, “If my children are going to receive an inheritance, they will feel much safer with digital assets than gold,” showing this optimistic view towards Bitcoin in the long run.

6. CEO of Paypal, “The public interests for digital assets are beyond any doubt”

The issue that brought the largest impact on the digital asset field was Paypal’s introduction of a digital asset trade service. Last October, Papal represented a trade service for Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, as well as Bitcoin. Dan Schulman, CEO of Paypal, said that due to the extreme volatility, it would be hard for retail traders to acknowledge digital assets as actual currencies. But recently, he changed his stance and said, “There is no doubt in a trend that people are focusing on digital payments and digital currencies.” And his sudden change of mind has been proved by his drastic action of offering a digital asset trade service.

7. Founder of the largest hedge fund, “Bitcoin is an alternative asset like gold”

Just like the 6 skeptics we’ve mentioned before, Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associate, is also one of the Bitcoin skeptics who have converted to become an optimist. In the past, he showed harsh criticism by saying, “Bitcoin is a bubble and a speculative product.” But in his recent comments, he admitted that “Some of the digital assets, including Bitcoin, are now positioned as an alternative asset like gold.” He explained that unlike real estate, Bitcoin is an asset that can replace gold due to its limited supply and good liquidity.

Since Bitcoin is receiving much attention from the world’s institutional investors and becoming the main investment market for millennial generations, the prejudice of the financial experts is now melting away. Now we can say that Bitcoin consolidated its footing as a ‘Digital gold.’ It would be worth expecting what Bitcoin will achieve in 2021.