Bill Gates dresses down crypto and NFTs, says they're based on 'greater fool theory'
Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates has earlier said that crypto projects lack 'valuable output', which is why he has not made any investments in them.
Billionaire and Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates on Wednesday criticised crypto initiatives such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as shams based on the 'greater fool theory'.
He was speaking about digital assets at an event as the founder of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the climate-focused fund he began in 2015, in Berkeley, California, hosted by TechCrunch.
Bill Gates said, “Obviously, expensive digital images of monkeys are going to improve the world immensely.” He added that he’s neither long nor short the asset class.
According to the greater fool theory, prices go up because people are able to sell overpriced securities to a "greater fool", whether or not they are overvalued.
This is not the first time Gates has criticised cryptocurrencies. In May, he had claimed that crypto projects lack "valuable output", which is why he had not made any investments in them. He further added that he only makes investments in assets that have the potential to increase in value, adding that cryptocurrencies did not.
In 2020, he had also emphasised the role bitcoin and other digital assets played in fostering criminal groups and activities.
Contrary to this, billionaires such as Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, Barry Silbert, and Michael Saylor have supported the crypto industry.
Edited by Teja Lele