Ray Dalio, one of the world’s wealthiest hedge fund investors, announced that he owns Bitcoin in a recent interview aired during the Consensus conference: “I’ve got some Bitcoin.” Dalio did not say how much of his fund is invested in the biggest cryptocurrency.

Ray Dalio Claims he Owns Bitcoins

He also said that he would like to buy Bitcoin over government bonds, “The more we invest in it, the more likely it is that you would think, “I’d rather have Bitcoin than the bond.” I prefer Bitcoin to bonds.”

Last month, Dalio said that Bitcoin had proved itself at Texas A&M’s Bitcoin Conference. He previously said in January that the biggest cryptocurrency was a “hell of an innovation.”

Over the last year, the director of the world’s biggest hedge fund has taken a 180-degree turn on Bitcoin. He advised the Davos crowd in early 2020 that Bitcoin was neither a store of value nor a means of trade.

The Larger The Coin, The Larger The Goal

Paul Tudor Jones, the billionaire hedge fund founder, has opened up to cryptocurrency. Nonetheless, Dalio often warns crypto investors of an impending regulatory ban on crypto.

In the aforementioned interview, he cautioned that governments could outlaw Bitcoin to prevent it from replacing state-controlled monetary systems.

Dalio said that Bitcoin’s popularity is its greatest challenge because authorities cannot disregard it, “When it becomes a bigger deal and more of a challenge, they lose leverage, posing an existential threat.” He also underlined the significance of diversification, “Diversification would be my main perspective”

Dalio Questions Cryptocurrency’s Massive Renaissance

As Dalio’s interview aired on Monday, the price of bitcoin was about $37,775—up 11% in the previous 24 hours but still down more than 40% from its recent high.

Dalio’s change of heart comes after he criticized crypto’s huge revival in November, tweeting: “I may be overlooking something about bitcoin but I’d love to be corrected,” before launching into a slew of alleged flaws that mirrored most of Wall Street’s bearish sentiment.

They are that 1) Bitcoin is not very good as a medium of exchange because you can buy much with it (I presume that’s because it’s too volatile for most merchants to use, but correct me if I’m wrong)… (2/5)

— Ray Dalio (@RayDalio) November 17, 2020

“Unlike gold, which is the third most valuable reserve commodity held by central banks, I can’t picture central banks, major institutional owners, firms, or global corporations using [bitcoin],”

Dalio tweeted at the time—just months before Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Tesla all began getting involved in cryptocurrencies.