Another billionaire investor falls for Bitcoin

David Rubenstein is yet another billionaire who has changed his mind on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. After initially being sceptical about the underlying value of cryptocurrencies, Rubenstein now believes that cryptocurrencies have a role to play given that they are outside of government control.

In an online interview on the ‘Invest Like The Best’ podcast, Rubenstein, co-founder and co-chairman of the private equity firm The Carlisle Group, said that “the genie is out of the bottle, and I don’t think the industry’s going to go away anytime soon” as he spoke about cryptocurrencies.

The billionaire talked of his original scepticism, saying that he previously didn’t believe there was any underlying value backing the likes of bitcoin and ethereum. However, he said that he had now changed his mind, and that his original supposition probably applied to fiat currencies.

“It’s clear to me now that many younger people don’t think there’s much underlying the dollar or the euro or other currencies,”

As well as the lack of real sound value underpinning fiat currencies, Rubenstein spoke of the control that fiat leveraged over governments and individuals, and referred to the current situation in Ukraine:

“If you’re in Ukraine, or you’re Russia, and your country has lots of challenges and you want to have some assets, having some cryptocurrency probably enables you to feel better than you can have something that’s outside of the government’s control,”

Rubenstein is yet another in a long line of billionaires who have publicly spoken out on the advantages of holding cryptocurrencies. Many are seeing the fatal flaws in the fiat currency system and are moving their wealth onto much firmer ground.

However, given that Bitcoin is still at only a $781 billion market cap, there is certainly room for many more large investors into the space. On that note, most large institutional investment is still sitting on the sidelines. The regulators, who are very much part of the fiat system, are taking their time and are not adding the regulatory clarity needed for large financial institutions and pension schemes to be able to enter this space.

It is hoped that many more influential billionaires such as Rubenstein can add pressure to governments and oblige them to make regulators impose fair and measured regulation for the industry.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice