Microsoft founder Bill Gates hasn’t had very encouraging words for cryptocurrencies as an asset class, or Bitcoin BTC/USD, and his public remarks have frequently reflected this pessimism.
What happened: Gates, one of the richest people on the planet, disclosed in May 2022 that he doesn’t hold any cryptocurrencies, adding that he prefers things that have “valuable output.”
“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 stated while responding to a question during an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit.
When Gates made this remark on May 19, one Bitcoin was priced at $30,314.33. So if you ignored his skepticism and allocated $1000 toward it, you’d have fetched 0.0329 units of the cryptocurrency.
Cut to the present, one Bitcoin is valued at $72,208.22. This meant that your stash would be worth $2381.98 as of this writing, marking an unrealized gain of 138%.
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Why It Matters: Gates has previously stressed the risks associated with Bitcoin’s volatility, particularly for people who might not have substantial wherewithal to withstand its swings.
In an interview from Feb 2021, Gates said that such drastic ups and downs may not impact someone like Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk, who has a lot of money, but that the general public should “watch out.”
But away from Gates’ skepticism, Microsoft, the software giant set up by him, will vote for an assessment of investing in Bitcoin during the upcoming shareholders meeting in December.
The shareholders urged the board to conduct the assessment, citing Bitcoin’s healthy gains—nearly 100% over the last year and 414% in the last five years.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $72,208.22, up 1.67% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Image via Shutterstock
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