Author: The “I changed my mind on bitcoin” club could have another billionaire representative. Howard Marks, the co-founder of the $140 billion Oaktree Capital Group, recently admitted that he needs to change his negative stance on BTC while being grateful that his son purchased a “meaningful” amount for the family.
Another One To Join The BTC Club?
The 74-year-old US investor and writer, with a net worth of more than $2 billion, is among the most prominent individuals in the financial circles. Similar to most old-school traditional investors, though, he used to be a bitcoin skeptic.
In a 2017 note to investors called “There They Go Again…Again,” he criticized the rally and advised people to avert from allocating funds in any digital assets as “they are not real.”
“Some businesses accept Bitcoin as payment. Some buyers want to own Ether because it can be used to pay for computing power on the Ethereum network. Some people want to put a little money into these to-date-profitable phenomena rather than run the risk of missing out. But they’re not real!”
Fast-forward less than four years later, and Marks has questioned his own perspective. “The least I can say is that my skeptical view has not borne out to date,” he wrote in a January 2021 memo.
Moreover, Marks said that his son, Andrew, has been “quite positive on Bitcoin and several other” cryptocurrencies and “thankfully owns a meaningful amount for our family.”
Marks Sr. argued that innovative investment instruments, such as digital assets, are prone to receive skepticism. This is even more valid when they first emerge, and only “a few believe in something that seems absurd when compared to the deeply entrenched status quo.”
Marks Won’t Be The First
Although Marks is yet to confirm that he has completely changed his stance on bitcoin, numerous others have already paved the way.
MicroStrategy’s founder and CEO, Michael Saylor, is among the most well-known BTC advocates these days. However, he used to be a critique in the past as he predicted in 2013 that the asset’s days are numbered.
CNBC’s TV host Jim Cramer once called bitcoin an “outlaw currency,” but recently said that the Fed’s actions had changed his mind on the cryptocurrency.
Hedge-fund legend and founder of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio, also soften his position on BTC. He went from “bitcoin has failed the purpose of money” and “it’s too volatile for a store of value” to admit that it could be an alternative to gold.
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