Billionaire Mark Cuban Hates Bitcoin and Gold Equally: ‘I’d Buy a Pet Rock First’
Tech billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, hates both gold and bitcoin, saying they’re not viable alternatives to currency. “I hate gold. Gold is ...
Tech billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, hates both gold and bitcoin, saying they’re not viable alternatives to currency.
“I hate gold. Gold is a religion,” Cuban told Kitco (video below). “I do not see gold as an alternative to currency. Not at all. Let’s put it this way: I don’t see people in Puerto Rico carrying around big bags of gold to try to save things.”
Cuban Hates Bitcoin ‘With Extreme Prejudice’
Cuban said both gold and bitcoin derive their values from supply and demand, but have no inherent value. He said “hate” is not strong enough a word to capture his antipathy for gold.
“Hate with extreme prejudice, with an ounce of hot sauce” is how the billionaire star of “Shark Tank” says he feels about gold, and by extension, bitcoin.
“I see gold and bitcoin as being the same thing,” he said. “They’re book collectibles. Their value is based off of supply and demand…I’d sooner buy a pet rock.”
Cuban added: “The good news about bitcoin is that there’s a finite supply that’ll ever be created, and the bad news about gold is that they’ll keep mining more.”
Cuban Invests in Crypto Industry
Interestingly, Cuban — whose net worth reportedly tops $3.7 billion — owns bitcoin and has invested in the cryptocurrency industry, but warned fans about throwing their money behind speculative investments such as crypto.
Cuban has long been skeptical of bitcoin because of its erratic price swings based seemingly on nothing. “It’s still very much a gamble,” he told Money. “It could go to $15,000 or zero, and maybe both on the same day.”
Cuban is right. Bitcoin prices are prone to wild, unexpected swings. After scoring an all-time high of $19,000 in December 2017, BTC prices have tanked below $7,000 this week. But keep in mind that BTC hovered at just $1,000 in January 2017.
Mark: Only Invest in BTC If You Can Handle Losing It All
Mark Cuban said you should invest in virtual currencies only if you can handle losing all the money.
“If you’re a true adventurer and you really want to throw the Hail Mary, you might take 10% and put it in bitcoin or ethereum,” he said. “But if you do that, you’ve got to pretend you’ve already lost your money.”
Featured image from Shutterstock.
Samantha Chang is a New York City-based financial editor who writes about crypto and business at CCN. She is a law school grad and an alum of the University of Pennsylvania. You can reach her on Twitter at Samantha Chang or email her at [email protected]