[Bitcoin Now] Billionaire Ray Dalio Says "Gold Over Bitcoin"

Focus on Gold's Liquidity... Bitcoin Still Faces Regulatory Risks, Claims US IRS "Cryptocurrency Seized During This Fiscal Year Reaches $1.2 Billion"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] While the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin remains stagnant in the 45 million KRW range, Ray Dalio, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, stated that he prefers gold over Bitcoin. Both gold and Bitcoin are useful as hedging instruments, but gold is considered safer.

According to the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, as of 5:01 PM on the 5th, Bitcoin was recorded at 45.14 million KRW, down 1.26% from the previous day. It rose to 46.03 million KRW at 6:15 AM that day but slightly declined afterward with no significant fluctuations. This is interpreted as Bitcoin remaining in the 45 million KRW range due to the absence of any major positive or negative factors that could cause volatility.

As Bitcoin continues to move sideways, Dalio, known as a billionaire investor, has chosen gold as a hedging instrument instead of Bitcoin. According to the US economic media CNBC on the 4th (local time), Dalio said, “If someone put a gun to my head and told me to choose between Bitcoin and gold, I would choose gold,” adding, “Both are investments that diversify risk, but gold is relatively safer compared to the highly volatile Bitcoin.”

Dalio cited gold’s long history as the reason for its lower volatility. Over a long period, gold has proven that it can be converted back into cash at a price similar to its purchase price. On the other hand, he pointed out that Bitcoin’s volatility could increase due to government regulations. Dalio explained, “Bitcoin could be declared illegal by the US federal government,” and emphasized, “It is important for investors to continuously reassess Bitcoin and avoid buying it just because of a temporary surge.”

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Bitcoin confiscated in the US since October last year has exceeded 1 trillion KRW. According to CNBC on the 4th, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it confiscated approximately 1.2 billion USD (about 1.3716 trillion KRW) worth of cryptocurrency involved in illegal activities such as tax evasion during this fiscal year (from October last year to September this year). The IRS explained that while it confiscated cryptocurrency worth 700,000 USD in the 2019 fiscal year, the amount surged to 137 million USD last year, indicating a rapid increase in confiscations.