Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has asserted that he believes cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are “100 percent” based on the greater fool theory—referencing the notion that investors can make money on worthless or overvalued assets as long as people are willing to bid higher.
Both are “100 percent based on the greater fool theory that somebody’s gonna pay more for it than I do,” the sixty-six-year-old billionaire said Tuesday during a TechCrunch talk, adding that he’s currently “not long or short” crypto.
Gates later joked that “expensive digital images of monkeys” would “improve the world immensely,” referring to the much-hyped Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.
“I’m used to asset classes … like a farm where they have output, or like a company where they make products,” he continued.
In an interview with Bloomberg last year, Gates contended that the average investor should avoid following Elon Musk’s lead in investing in bitcoin.
“I do think people get bought into these manias, who may not have as much money to spare,” he said. “So I’m not bullish on bitcoin.”
Gates’ comments come as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have plummeted in value in recent weeks. Bitcoin has already lost more than 50 percent of its value this year and is now hovering around $21,000 per coin. In addition, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States by trading volume, confirmed Tuesday that it would lay…
