Bill Gates is apparently not a fan of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFT). While speaking at the TechCrunch event, the Microsoft co-founder even quipped about crypto and NFT investors.
Gates says he prefers investing in assets with tangible returns, such as farms or factories, or companies that make products. He also admitted that he was not involved in crypto or NFT investments.
"I'm not involved in that. I'm not (taking positions) long or short in those things," Gates said, as quoted from The Verge, Thursday (16/6/2022).
One of the world's richest people has also indicated that he is suspicious of assets designed to evade taxes or government regulations. It didn't stop there, Gates also referred to crypto and NFT as assets based on the 'greater fool theory'.
Greater fool theory is a financial concept that holds that a person can profit from an asset that is deemed overvalued as long as there are other 'idiots' out there willing to buy it at a higher price.
"Such assets are 100 percent based on a kind of stupid theory that someone will pay more than I do," Gates added.
Melinda French's ex-husband also satirized the NFT Bored Ape Yacht Club project, which featured various images of monkeys at exorbitant prices.
"Of course, expensive digital images of monkeys would really help the world," he joked.
Bill Gates tells us what he really thinks of Bored Apes at #TCClimate: pic.twitter.com/vBc8BaaTup
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) June 14, 2022
This is not the first time Gates has expressed his skeptical views on crypto. In an interview with Bloomberg in February 2021, Gates was worried about seeing general investors buying Bitcoin too when the market is very volatile.
"I think people who fall into this mania probably don't have a lot of money to waste. My general view is if you have less money than Elon, you should probably be careful," Gates said in the interview.
Since that interview, the value of crypto and NFT has indeed plunged. As he spoke in 2021, Bitcoin's value was at its peak and touched USD 63,000 at its peak. A year later, the value of Bitcoin plummeted to the level of USD 20,000.