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Tencent Securities News: According to the US financial website MarketWatch, cryptocurrency has become a hot topic nowadays, and Wall Street tycoons seem to be expressing their attitudes towards cryptocurrency every day.
Is Bitcoin a “fraud” or the future? Is the ICO just a scam? It depends on who you ask. One thing is for sure, there is no shortage of opinions. Here are some of the financial heavyweights who have recently expressed their views on Bitcoin:
Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO: “Not willing to turn up your nose at it.”
“I’m uncomfortable with Bitcoin because I’m uncomfortable with anything new,” Blankfein said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
He added: “If we get into the future and Bitcoin is successful, I will be able to explain how it is a natural evolution of currency. I have no investment in it, but I am not willing to turn my nose up at it.”
In an Oct. 3 tweet, Blankfein cautioned Bitcoin skeptics, saying that when paper money replaced gold, market stalwarts were also skeptical.
Here’s what he tweeted: “Still thinking about Bitcoin. No conclusion, neither for nor against. Remember, people were skeptical of paper money when it replaced gold.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is reportedly exploring the development of a new trading platform centered around trading Bitcoin and its competitors.
Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam: “The definition of a bubble.”
Thiam did not say anything substantive when discussing cryptocurrencies during a press conference in Zurich on Nov. 2.
“From what we can determine, buying or selling Bitcoin today with the sole intent of making money is the definition of speculation, the definition of a bubble,” he said.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon: 'This is a scam'
Dimon said in early September that “Bitcoin is not real, it’s just speculation, and America doesn’t need it.”
He also compared Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to the 17th century mania for tulip bulbs (viewed as a textbook bubble) and predicted that investors in the decentralized currency would face similarly serious problems over the past year.
“Bitcoin is going to crash eventually. It’s a fraud. It’s worse than tulip bulbs and it’s not going to end well,” Dimon said, adding that he would fire any JPMorgan trader if they were “stupid” enough to trade bitcoin.
His comments caused such a furor that during the bank’s third-quarter earnings call, Dimon announced he would no longer speak about Bitcoin.
“I wouldn’t put Bitcoin on this level of world importance,” he said.
Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat: "Very interested in blockchain technology, not interested in cryptocurrencies"
In an interview with Nikkei published on Oct. 12, Corbat acknowledged the value of blockchain technology but said he was not interested in cryptocurrencies themselves.
"I never look down on new things. But like many new things, its initial application may not and cannot be the final state. When we studied Bitcoin, we all thought and believed that its underlying technology, blockchain technology, was very valuable. When I saw Bitcoin, I was a little hesitant. What is it? Is it a currency? I don't think it is. Is it a speculative investment? I think it is more likely."
James Gorman, Morgan Stanley CEO: "More Than Just a Fad"
Gorman made the comment in late September, arguing that the cryptocurrency phenomenon is at least “more than a fad. I haven’t invested in it. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have. It’s obviously very speculative, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s a natural progression of the whole blockchain technology.”
Gorman said some of the potential appeal of digital currencies is “the privacy it gives people.” He added that this is “interesting.”
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett: "It's a mirage."
Back in 2014 (which seems like a century ago for Bitcoin), the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett, said of Bitcoin on CNBC: “Stay away from it. It’s basically a mirage. It’s a way to send money. It’s a very efficient way to send money, and you can do it anonymously. Checks are also a way to send money. Are checks worth a lot of money? Just because they can transfer money?”
A lot has changed since 2014, but at an event with business school students in October, Buffett reiterated his misgivings: "You can't value Bitcoin because it's not a value-creating asset." He added that no one knows how far the price of Bitcoin will go and described it as a "real bubble."
Axel Weber, Chairman of UBS Group: “It only has the properties of a remittance currency.”
“I’m often asked why I’m so skeptical about Bitcoin, and it probably stems from my background as a central banker,” Weber said at a conference in Zurich on Oct. 4.
He said: "The important functions of currency are as a means of payment, it must be universally accepted, it must be a store of value, and it must be a remittance currency." Bitcoin only has the attributes of a remittance currency.
Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO: “I’m a big believer in potential.”
Fink told Bloomberg in an Oct. 3 interview at the BlackRock Fixed Income ETF Conference in New York that the rapid rise of cryptocurrencies “is indicative of a lot of money laundering going on in the world.”
However, he also said: "I believe cryptocurrencies can fulfill their potential." He said he sees "huge opportunities" but that Bitcoin is "more speculative" at the moment.
Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates: "Bitcoin is a bubble."
Dalio said in September that cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, have met his firm’s criteria for a market bubble, in part because they are so volatile and show signs that people are buying them with the sole intention of selling them later at a higher price, making them unreliable stores of value.
“Bitcoin is a highly speculative market,” he told CNBC. “Bitcoin is a bubble.”
Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments: “We need to address these barriers.”
Johnson has become a supporter of cryptocurrencies and publishes his bitcoin holdings on his website, which is visible to users with accounts on bitcoin exchange Coinbase.
“I tend to think that huge new markets and products will be built on these platforms,” Johnson said at Consensus, an online forum set up by digital currency website CoinDesk. “But there are some hurdles we need to address before that can happen.” |
