The co-founder of Magellan Financial Group – Hamish Douglass – opined that the crypto market is one of the “greatest mass delusions in modern history.” To him, the whole idea behind the virtual assets looks like a religion that millions of people strongly believe in.
Hamish Douglass – co-founder and CEO of the Australian investment company Magellan Financial Group (MFG) – warned investors to beware of the cryptocurrency market. In a recent interview, he described it as a “speculative bubble,” which will eventually blow up:
“Cryptocurrencies, I have to say are one of the greatest irrationalities I’ve seen in a very, very, long period of time because of the cult like following it has behind it and the scale that is behind it.”
The billionaire continued with his hostile comments stating that the proponents of the digital assets are mainly inexperienced people who have raised their belief to a religious level:
“There are millions and millions of people participating. Some of the people they’ve never invested before and the only bandwagon they’ve ever got on is the cryptocurrency bandwagon and it’s almost like a religion.”
Douglass predicted that the crypto market would inevitably crash to zero. However, he noted that he is not too concerned about it as his company has zero exposure and does not plan any future involvement. The executive said he expects a negative reaction from the crypto community for his comments. Still, he wanted to warn investors and people already dealing with virtual currencies about the risks on the field.
The prominent American investor – Mark Cuban – also compared cryptocurrencies, and more specifically bitcoin, to a financial religion. Unlike Hamish Douglass, though, he highlighted their benefits.
Cuban, who once said that bananas are more easily tradable than bitcoin, turned recently into a BTC bull. To him, the primary virtual currency is easy to trade, store, and create. Comparing gold and bitcoin, the billionaire believes that the precious metal is a “hassle,” while the cryptocurrency “enables [the] transfer of value locally and globally.”
As for Ethereum, Cuban argued that smart contracts build on top of its blockchain are “better, cheaper, faster at authenticating/buying/selling/delivering digital items than alternatives available.”
Featured Image Courtesy of TheAustralian
