Ray Dalio has urged investors to stop treating Bitcoin (BTC) as equivalent to gold, arguing the leading crypto lacks central bank backing, offers limited privacy, and faces questions around privacy safeguards and quantum resistance. On the All-In Podcast he said, “there is only one gold,” calling gold the “most established money” and noting it is the second-largest reserve asset held by central banks. He questioned why central banks would long-term hold an asset that runs on a public ledger.
Dalio has acknowledged Bitcoin’s hard-money features but pointed to its strong correlation with tech stocks. He warned that ownership, supply and demand dynamics can shift if an investor is forced to sell assets elsewhere, affecting prices across markets.
He also criticized Bitcoin’s privacy limits—“any transaction can be monitored”—and cautioned that advances in quantum computing could threaten the network’s security.
The timing of Dalio’s comments was notable. On the same day, gold plunged roughly 3% to near $5,127 per ounce, while Bitcoin fell only about 0.7% to $68,650. Five days into rising U.S.-Iran tensions, gold—Dalio’s preferred safe haven—suffered a bigger drop than the cryptocurrency he frequently critiques.
Dalio’s view isn’t wholly dismissive. He said he keeps about 1% of his portfolio in Bitcoin for diversification and has previously suggested investors consider allocating around 15% to either Bitcoin or gold as a hedge against mounting U.S. debt. He has also warned that the U.S.-anchored “World Order” has effectively unraveled, prompting investors to reassess how they protect wealth—raising questions about whether gold alone still fills that role.
According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin hit a one-month high of $71,805 earlier today before retracing to $70,851, up 4.9% in the past 24 hours and 8.4% over the past week.
