Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, shared his take on bitcoin , its use for money, and governments' response to the growing use of cryptocurrency. He predicts that central banks will not allow uncontrolled money to be used.
Jim Rogers talks about Bitcoin
Famous investor Jim Rogers shared his prediction on the future of bitcoin and cryptocurrency in an interview with branch manager of Asahi Shimbun Singapore Koji Nishimura, published on Friday. Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund in 1973 with billionaire investor George Soros, who was considered one of the best performing hedge funds of its heyday. They have a return of 4200% over 10 years until 1980, against 47% for the S & P 500.
Rogers believes that if cryptocurrency succeeds in being used as money, instead of being used mainly for speculative purposes, governments will intervene, making it illegal in order to end its use. For this reason, "I believe that the [value of] virtual currencies represented by bitcoin will decrease and eventually become zero," he said in the publication. "It is difficult for us to move money without government control," said Rogers, adding:
The government wants to know everything. Controllable electronic money will survive and virtual currencies independent of government influence will be eliminated.
Rogers explained that the cryptocurrency markets are volatile, especially during the global economic crisis. “Even if cryptocurrencies did not even exist a few years ago, in the blink of an eye, they become 100 and 1,000 times more precious… It's a clear bubble and I don't know the right price” , he explained, stressing that cryptocurrency is not an investment but a game.
He then talked about electronic money. “Governments love electronic money because with electronic money, you can know when, where, who spent and how much. Governments will have more control over people through electronic money, ”said the investment guru. “Electronic money has a low cost of issue. Money must be printed, transported and counted. It is expensive for the government. "
However, cryptocurrencies beyond the control of governments will not be accepted as cash, Rogers said, adding that those working on cryptocurrencies think they are "smarter than the government". However, "the government has something that those who work with virtual currencies do not have . It's a pistol. For this reason, he said, "I believe that virtual currency will eventually disappear".
He thinks governments will never let bitcoin be used for money. “Only 100 years ago, we could use whatever we wanted for money. You can use coins, gold, silver or seashells. Banks could also print the invoices themselves. It was legal, ”he said. However, in the mid-1930s, the Bank of England declared that the use of any type of money other than the money it issued was illegal, Rogers said. As a result, "no one has used money other than that issued by the Bank of England," he described, predicting that the same thing will happen to cryptocurrency.
While admitting that a society where governments "know too much about our actions" is "unfavorable", he believes that the cryptocurrency "out of government control will not be widely distributed in the form of money".
Although Rogers is not optimistic about cryptocurrency, many institutional investors are increasingly interested in investing in this asset class. Fidelity Digital Assets recently surveyed around 800 institutional investors in Europe and the United States and found that 80% of them find cryptocurrency attractive, while 60% believe that cryptocurrencies have a place in their wallets. Grayscale Investments is also seeing growing demand for crypto investments.
Well-known hedge fund managers such as Paul Tudor Jones have increased their bitcoin holdings. Jones said he had around 2% of his assets in bitcoin . Other billionaire investors who are optimistic about bitcoin include the president of Virgin Galactic, Chamath Palihapitiya, and the CEO of Galaxy Digital, Mike Novogratz.
