Bitcoin is doing extremely well as of late, but that’s not changing the minds of certain financial firms and individuals. Among today’s bitcoin doubters is Bill Gates, the software mogul known for creating Microsoft programs.
Bill Gates Thinks the World Doesn’t Need BTC
In a recent tweet, Gates puts on an attitude of indifference towards bitcoin, the world’s number one cryptocurrency by market cap. The message reads:
I don’t own bitcoin. I’m not short bitcoin, so I’ve taken a neutral view. I do think moving money into a more digital form and getting transaction costs down, that’s something the Gates Foundation does in developing countries. Bitcoin can go up and down just based on the mania or whatever the views are, and I don’t have a way of predicting how that will progress.
However, in a separate interview that occurred on February 18, 2021, the philanthropist and technical executive stated:
The way cryptocurrency works today allows for certain criminal activities. It’d be good to get rid of that. I probably should have said biological weapons. That’s a really bad thing.
Judging from these words, it appears Gates is taking on sentiment similar with that of Janet Yellen, the new Treasury Secretary. Not long ago, Yellen commented that she was concerned about the amount of money laundering and financial crime that appeared to center around bitcoin, and thus she was looking into potentially halting or limiting crypto activity in the future.
This is an argument that traders are no doubt used to hearing. However, is it an argument that holds any ground in today’s market? There is resounding proof that this kind of behavior isn’t as widespread as we’ve all been led to think. For example, a new report issued by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis recently emerged to suggest that most money laundering activity is relatively concentrated and doesn’t occur throughout the entire digital space.
The report shows that more than half – approximately 55 percent – of laundered crypto funds are stored in about 270 digital accounts. In a world where there are likely millions upon millions of wallets, the amount of laundered money is stored in less than 300 of them. That’s an extremely small ratio.
In addition, the report also says that many of the criminals in the crypto space are likely to follow patterns when it comes to storing the assets in question, thereby suggesting that these individuals may be easy to track and subdue in the future.
A History of Dislike?
Either way, Bill Gates has not been a bitcoin fan for some time, claiming in 2018 that it was something the world could do without. In an interview, he mentioned:
As an asset class, you’re not producing anything and so you shouldn’t expect it to go up. It’s kind of a pure ‘greater fool theory’ type of investment.
