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Here's why this billionaire investor predicts crypto currencies will 'go to zero'
Marketwatch ^ | 8/30/2021 | Barbara Kollmeyer

Posted on 08/30/2021 9:55:52 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods

This link also works: https://outline.com/JJt8uT

“Cryptocurrencies, regardless of where they’re trading today, will eventually prove to be worthless. Once the exuberance wears off, or liquidity dries up, they will go to zero. I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies,” John Paulson, president and portfolio manager of U.S. investment firm Paulson & Co., told Bloomberg Wealth in an interview that published on Monday.

Paulson said it wasn’t even worth shorting bitcoin given its extreme volatility, and instead suggested investors sock money into bullion, due to “a very limited amount of investible gold.” Paulson sees investors pulling money out of fixed income and cash as inflation rises, then heading toward the only logical destination — that is, gold.

(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: bitcoin; crypto; cryptocurrency; elonmusk; investing; johnpaulson; money; spacex; tulipmania
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After last week’s dovish Jackson Hole message from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, stocks look set to hover at record levels on Monday.

The Fed chief indicated a gradual easing of support, and markets will be closely watching some big data due this week that could weigh into how fast or slow the central bank proceeds. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing report is due at midweek, followed by nonfarm payrolls on Friday.

Energy is in the spotlight, as well, for Monday, in the wake of one of the biggest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. mainland.

On to our call of the day, from a billionaire investor who believes investors shouldn’t waste money or time on one increasingly popular asset class that he views as a “bubble.”

“Cryptocurrencies, regardless of where they’re trading today, will eventually prove to be worthless. Once the exuberance wears off, or liquidity dries up, they will go to zero. I wouldn’t recommend anyone invest in cryptocurrencies,” John Paulson, president and portfolio manager of U.S. investment firm Paulson & Co., told Bloomberg Wealth in an interview that published on Monday.

Paulson said it wasn’t even worth shorting bitcoin given its extreme volatility, and instead suggested investors sock money into bullion, due to “a very limited amount of investible gold.” Paulson sees investors pulling money out of fixed income and cash as inflation rises, then heading toward the only logical destination — that is, gold.

For those not familiar with the Paulson name, the former hedge-fund manager made a killing betting against the U.S. housing market before it collapsed.

Bitcoin pushed to $50,000 early last week but then struggled to keep that level, even as Powell comments on Friday weighed on the dollar and gave cryptocurrencies a lift. Bitcoin was trading around $47,000 early Monday.

Paulson had another piece of advice for those who just happen to have $100,000 laying around: Use it to buy your own home. Read the full interview here.

Ida rips across the south

Hurricane Ida became one of the worst storms to ever hit the U.S. on Sunday, cutting power to New Orleans, tearing off rooftops and setting the Mississippi River’s flow in the opposite direction. One death has been reported so far, and winds are reportedly stronger than those from Hurricane Katrine, which struck the region 16 years ago.

Affirm Holdings shares AFRM, -2.97% are soaring after the buy-now-pay-later fintech group announced late Friday that it has partnered with Amazon AMZN, +1.01%. Elsewhere, Baxter International BAX, +0.27% is reportedly in advanced talks to buy medical-equipment maker Hill-Rom Holdings HRC, +0.96% for around $10 billion.

A Tesla TSLA, +1.53% using its autopilot feature crashed into a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser Saturday, narrowly missing the driver. The U.S. government opened a formal investigation into the electric-car maker’s autonomous-navigation system earlier this month.

The European Union may announce on Monday a recommendation to halt nonessential travel from the U.S., where the COVID-19 infection rate is now above that of the common-currency region. That’s as hospitalizations have been hovering above 100,000 and some southern states are running out of oxygen for patients.

Carnival CCL, +3.75%, meanwhile, is facing a lawsuit that claims the cruise ship failed to protect those taking its cruises from the coronavirus causing COVID-19.

Stock futures ES00, +0.08% YM00, +0.04% NQ00, +0.10% are barely budging, in line with European equities SXXP, +0.02%. Oil prices CL00, -0.20% CLV21, -0.20% are slipping after rallying ahead of Hurricane Ida, while gasoline prices RBU21, +2.08% are falling. The storm has knocked out 95% of energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Al Roker fires back at “punks” who say the 67-year-old weatherman is too old for trademark TV news live hurricane coverage.

Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up here to get it delivered once to your email box. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Want more for the day ahead? Sign up for Barron’s Daily, a morning briefing for investors, including exclusive commentary from Barron’s and MarketWatch writers.

https://outline.com/JJt8uT

1 posted on 08/30/2021 9:55:52 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods
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To: SaxxonWoods

Why aren’t home prices in a bubble just like 2007?

What advice is this?
You can’t even buy a home for less than a bitcoin except maybe in Detroit.


2 posted on 08/30/2021 9:59:01 AM PDT by z3n
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To: SaxxonWoods

If I had been smart enough and knowledgeable enough to buy crypto currencies, I would have bought early in the game and bought thousands of dollars, to make millions.

However, if I was so knowledgeable, when they reached a high point, I would have sold out and bought tangible investments like land and metals.

I’ve always thought that Cryptocurrencies were just experimentations to see how to make digital money work. There is no other to test it than to actually create one and see it people work with it.


3 posted on 08/30/2021 10:01:18 AM PDT by Jonty30 (My superpower is setting people up for failure, without meaning to. )
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To: SaxxonWoods

I’m “sure” he has no vested interest..


4 posted on 08/30/2021 10:03:26 AM PDT by StolarStorm
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To: SaxxonWoods
He wants the prices to go down so he can buy more for himself.

5 posted on 08/30/2021 10:04:21 AM PDT by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)
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To: BitWielder1

I think he’s fundamentally correct. There is nothing backing cryptocurrencies, except its notional value.


6 posted on 08/30/2021 10:05:37 AM PDT by Jonty30 (My superpower is setting people up for failure, without meaning to. )
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To: SaxxonWoods

Hurricane Katrine

LOL


7 posted on 08/30/2021 10:14:41 AM PDT by Kenny500c ( )
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To: SaxxonWoods

No matter how much I may think I understand cryptocurrency there will always be others who know more to the point of having an unfair advantage.


8 posted on 08/30/2021 10:15:31 AM PDT by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" (Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius (170 BC - 86 BC))
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To: SaxxonWoods

Electronic coinage is only as tangible as electronic books.
Even electronic coin certificates can really only be used for one purpose, then flushed.
The physical, tactile tangibility of metals has become ingrained into the human psyche.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
To be penny-less is to be poor.
“A quarter for a clue.”
“Car won’t start? Did ya put a nickel in it first?”


9 posted on 08/30/2021 10:16:34 AM PDT by Terry L Smith
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To: SaxxonWoods

This interview with a financial ‘expert’ will not age well. It is true that his firm will be left high and dry in the future world of decentralized finance that is the real promise of crypto currencies. Firms like Paulson & Co. haven’t figured out a way to monopolize the trading of these digital instruments. There are no middlemen on the block chain other than the exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, etc.

Only 21M bitcoins will ever be created for eternity. How many dollars will be created in the next 20 years? How many shares of his favorite stock will be issued? Bitcoin brings certainty and scarcity into the world of finance and that is why Wall Street isn’t too keen on it.

I will take BTC over USD any day.


10 posted on 08/30/2021 10:19:37 AM PDT by bagadonutz (knuckledragger)
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To: Jonty30

What is worth LESS than a piece of paper? Electrons.

Turn off the power and your bitcoin wallet is worth exactly ZERO.

Relative scarcity and marginal utility are what make currencies work.


11 posted on 08/30/2021 10:21:55 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (A Psalm in napalm...)
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To: Jonty30
There is nothing backing cryptocurrencies, except its notional value.

There is nothing backing any currency, except its notional value.

The history of Homo Sapiens has been _very_ clear on that point.
12 posted on 08/30/2021 10:22:45 AM PDT by cgbg (A kleptocracy--if they can keep it. Think of it as the Cantillon Effect in action.)
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To: bagadonutz

Bitcoin is one EMP away from being worth zero....


13 posted on 08/30/2021 10:23:35 AM PDT by cgbg (A kleptocracy--if they can keep it. Think of it as the Cantillon Effect in action.)
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To: Menehune56

One thing that can destroy cryptocurrencies: electromagnetic pulse. Buy gold instead. When the internet goes down you will need it.


14 posted on 08/30/2021 10:31:02 AM PDT by webheart (I thought I was helping by getting vaccinated but they say I didn’t help at all. )
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To: cgbg

That is what I get for commenting before reading all of the other comments. I can’t even claim it was simultaneous.


15 posted on 08/30/2021 10:32:19 AM PDT by webheart (I thought I was helping by getting vaccinated but they say I didn’t help at all. )
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To: Jonty30

And once they are stopped from use in illegal activities, once they are transparent, and taxes are paid on gains, I bet they will be worthless. Their only value now is funding illegal activity and avoiding taxes.


16 posted on 08/30/2021 10:33:01 AM PDT by Reno89519 (Respect America, Embrace America, Buy American, Hire American.)
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To: StolarStorm

Exactly. They talk it down and buy the dips for their clients while there is no clarity or concern of “insider” trading.


17 posted on 08/30/2021 10:33:59 AM PDT by IllumiNaughtyByNature (Polls are no longer designed to measure public sentiment but to influence it.)
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To: cgbg

Those comments about EMPs and power outages causing loss of crypto wallets do not understand the fundamentals of the block chain. I have a hardware wallet for my crypto - but I don’t really need it to protect my investments. The value is in the trustless electronic ledgers all over the world. No single EMP attack will wipe out BTC. I hold the private key in my brain - a 24 word pass phrase no one else has (except my trusted family members). My crypto investments are many times more secure than physical assets. I do have some crypto tokens that can be exchanged real gold (held in a vault in London). This token is PAXG if you want to hold gold on the blockchain.


18 posted on 08/30/2021 10:35:27 AM PDT by bagadonutz (knuckledragger)
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To: webheart

Imagine you live in New Orleans right now.

Bitcoin does you no good.

Credit cards don’t work (regardless of currency).

Gold is of no use.

What you want are durable supplies you can eat, wear, give you shelter, help you repair stuff, first and foremost.

Spending cash in locally accepted currency comes in second place.


19 posted on 08/30/2021 10:37:03 AM PDT by cgbg (A kleptocracy--if they can keep it. Think of it as the Cantillon Effect in action.)
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To: SaxxonWoods

Crypto coins have as much inherent value as the folding dollar. None. Their “value” depends on other people wanting them.

But there are trillions of dollars in circulation throughout the world. The demand isn’t going away. The dollar is not going away.

I would never buy a single crypto cent, but I think they are not going away any time soon either.


20 posted on 08/30/2021 10:38:02 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Trump: Make America Great Again. biden: Make Taliban Great Again. (Click on my user name))
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