Premium: Bill Gates heaps scorn on Crypto, NFTs – “100% greater fool” market

I arrived rather late to the crypto party. That's always dangerous, so requires greater circumspection. My conversion finally came after hearing Stafford Masie's brilliantly argued presentation at BNC3 and reading his recommended The Bitcoin Standard. .That led to March's small investment (2%) by the BizNews Shyft model portfolio into a Bitcoin ETF and the world's biggest Bitcoin-owning company. After subsequently seeing anti-crypto headwinds gather, the proposed second and third tranche purchases were put on hold. Fortuitiously as it turns out. .Masie warned investing in crypto currencies is based on the belief that would become a store of value. He said that would take time and not be a quiet ride. So advised that after purchasing, the investment should be put into the proverbial bottom drawer and only looked at five years later..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Great advice right now. Because whatever the future holds, anti-crypto winds are blowing at Force Ten right now after Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates added his considerable voice at a tech conference this week (see below). The boot is very much on the anti-crypto foot right now. .More to read today: .Carnegie: Putin is becoming a burden for Russia's elites. Increasing fragility will make them more divided and autonomous—but that's not to say a coup is in the cards.Three Money Mistakes to Avoid in a Bear Market. There are ways to protect your finances in a downturn without acting rashly.Elon Musk Talks Staffing, Free Speech, Remote Work in Twitter Employee Meeting. Billionaire Tesla chief says costs are 'not a great situation' at social-media company he has agreed to acquire. .Bill Gates Says NFTs and Crypto Are '100%' Based on Greater Fool Theory.The Microsoft co-founder joked that 'expensive digital images of monkeys' would improve the world.WATCH: The rise of play-to-earn videogames – in which gamers trade NFTs – offers a glimpse into how the metaverse could attract users with monetary rewards, and what pushbacks may come with it..By Alyssa Lukpat of The Wall Street Journal .Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates said he thinks cryptocurrencies and NFTs are "100%" based on the greater fool theory. .The 66-year-old billionaire was referring to the notion that overvalued assets will keep going up because there are enough people willing to pay high prices for them. He joked that "expensive digital images of monkeys" would "improve the world immensely.".Mr. Gates, who for years has lampooned cryptocurrencies, said Tuesday at a TechCrunch event in Berkeley, Calif., that people bought cryptocurrencies and NFTs based on the idea that, no matter its price, it could be sold for higher because "somebody's going to pay more for it than I do.".He said that he wasn't involved in "any of those things" either long or short. Other wealthy investors and executives, including Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon, have also expressed skepticism about cryptocurrencies. Mr. Buffett once called bitcoin "rat poison squared.".NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, are digital proofs of a purchase for goods like art, digital music and sneakers. After surging in popularity, their demand appears to be flatlining recently. Rising interest rates have crushed risky bets across the financial markets—and NFTs are among the most speculative. .In referencing NFTs, Mr. Gates appeared to be commenting on a monkey from the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. .He said he preferred asset classes "like a farm where they have the output or a company where they make products.".His comments come as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have slid sharply in recent days amid a broad global market rout, undoing much of the gains at the beginning of the pandemic when a wave of investors started betting on digital currencies. .The price of bitcoin recently traded just above $20,000 on Wednesday. It has lost more than two-thirds of its value since its record high in November, the fourth worst selloff in the cryptocurrency's 13-year history..Further waves of reckoning have swept through the cryptocurrency industry this week. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc. said it would cut almost a fifth of its staff and crypto lender Celsius Network LLC, one of the largest crypto lenders, told users on Sunday night that it was pausing all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts because of extreme market conditions. The company has hired a law firm to examine restructuring options..Mr. Gates is the world's fourth-richest person with a net worth of $113 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He wrote in a Q&A session on Reddit last month that he didn't own any cryptocurrencies.."I like investing in things that have valuable output," he said.."The value of crypto," he added, "is just what some other person decides someone else will pay for it.".NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via Biznews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our helpdesk can assist – support@biznews.com

Premium: Bill Gates heaps scorn on Crypto, NFTs – “100% greater fool” market

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