“You have an asset class that’s 100% based on some sort of greater fool theory that somebody’s going to pay more for it than I do…”
That was Microsoft
MSFT,
co-founder Bill Gates delivering his latest thoughts on cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFT) at a TechCrunch conference on climate change Tuesday.
He added that any sort of asset that has “at its heart has sort of this anonymity that you avoid taxation, or any sort of government rules”, he is not getting involved in. Gates said not “long or short in any of those things.”
“I’m used to asset classes like a farm where they have output or a company where they make products,” said the world’s fourth richest individual who has a net worth of $113 billion .
He appeared to take a particular swipe at the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club — one of the most popular NFT collections living living on the Ethereum blockchain.. “I mean, obviously expensive, you know, digital images of monkeys are gonna improve the world,” Gates said.
NFTs have taken a hit along cryptocurrencies as of late. The Bored Ape Yacht Club floor price, representing the cost of the cheapest available NFT on the market, has fallen nearly 14% in seven days to a low of 76 ether, or $80,817, according to NFT Price Floor.
Read: Here’s how much money you would have lost if you bought a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT a month ago
Bitcoin
BTCUSD,
wavered between $20,000 and just over $21,000 on Wednesday, with the No. 1 cryptocurrency down 32% over the past five days, selling in step with equities as investors have grown uneasy with high inflation and efforts by central banks to rein it in.
And: Crypto crash 2022: why are bitcoin and ether down? Should you buy the dip?
The Federal Reserve is expected to later on Wednesday announce an interest rate increase of up to 75 basis points, while the European Central Bank is also holding an emergency meeting.
Losses for cryptos have triggered layoffs and stress at some exchanges. Crypto lender Celsius Network sent shock waves through the industry after it paused withdrawals, swaps and transfers on Sunday, amid a particularly brutal weekend for cryptocurrencies.
Read: Crypto lender Celsius hires restructuring lawyers amid mounting problems
Meanwhile, it’s not the first time the entrepreur and philanthropist has shaded digital assets. Answering questions via an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit last month, Gates reportedly said he doesn’t like investing in cryptocurrencies because their value is based on “just what some other person decides someone else will pay for it, so not adding to society like other investments.”
Read: Half of bitcoin holders on Coinbase exchange may face losses, Mizuho says
