Friday, April 5, 2019

Warren Buffett Might Convert to Bitcoin, Dr Doom Already There


Famed Swiss investor, analyst and, until recently, crypto skeptic Marc Faber, 73, has bought his first bitcoin in another sign the old guard of investments is warming to crypto.

Speaking to German finance website Cash, Faber revealed he recently bought bitcoin for the first time to learn more about cryptocurrencies and following some persistent and high-profile badgering.


GLOOM, BOOM AND DOOM

His normally pessimistic market outlook earned him the nickname “Dr. Doom.” Faber, with a net worth reportedly around $25 billion, famously predicted the crash of 1987. He pens the Gloom, Boom and Doom monthly market report.

Younger readers of the newsletter, plus a “one-hour talk” with Wence Casares, CEO of Xapo, convinced Faber to take the plunge and buy bitcoin.

It’s a sign younger, clued-up investors who place more trust in crypto than traditional markets, are gradually asserting their influence on the old guard.

But Faber is not the only billionaire investor to be linked to crypto. Warren Buffett, 88, who famously called Bitcoin “rat poison squared” last year is also warming to blockchain.

Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he has praised blockchain, despite admitting he doesn’t fully understand it:

It’s a very ingenious thing to figure out how to have a limited supply and make it harder and more expensive to create. This is explained to me by people a lot smarter than I am.

INSTITUTIONAL MONEY’S ALREADY HERE

Along with a $40 million investment from two US pension funds into Morgan Creek Digital’s crypto venture fund, the signs are positive of a subtle shift in attitudes towards bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies more generally.

Many claim the market has bottomed out. Meanwhile, wealthy investors and institutional money are only too aware of the Bitcoin’s potential.

Faber said he bought Bitcoin around the end of February. Prices were hovering around $3.8k per coin. He believes BTC now looks better from a technical perspective. The crash of Bitcoin contributes to his analysis.

During the interview he hinted that while not guaranteed, the future for bitcoin was good.

He said:

It’s not certain, but possible, that Bitcoin will be the standard for money transfers.

Faber is probably the best-known, but also the most controversial, Swiss investor.

As well as being nicknamed Dr. Doom or “the crash prophet”, he gained international recognition after predicting the Black Monday stock market crash in 1987.

He’s well known for his regular criticism of central banks and traditional monetary policy.

- Source, CCN