Bill Gates Explains Why He Doesn’t Own Any Cryptocurrency

While several billionaires like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor have thrown their weight behind cryptocurrency, often tweeting in support of the virtual currency, Microsoft Founder Bill Gates has come out as a non-believer in the new industry’s potential. 

During an ‘Ask Me Anything’ exchange on Reddit, Mr Gates said he does not own any cryptocurrency. 

Mr Gates, the fourth-richest person in the world, said he does not see any value in crypto investments. He also expressed his views on several other topics, such as whether billionaires should pay more taxes.

“I don’t own any. I like investing in things that have valuable output,” Mr Gates, 66, said. 

He explained that the value of companies is based on how they make great products and not just on how other people see them. 

“The value of crypto is just what some other person decides someone else will pay for it, so not adding to society like other investments,” he added.

It’s not the first time the billionaire entrepreneur has expressed his reservations about cryptocurrency. 

But his stance now appears more pertinent as the crypto industry faces serious headwinds after the freefall seen in the TerraUSD “stablecoin” last week. 

In the past month, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has slid 27 per cent and the second-in-line Ethereum lost 36 per cent.

Several others, including ace investor Warren Buffett, too have voiced their concerns about cryptocurrency. 

Asked whether billionaires should pay more tax, Mr Gates said going too high could lead to more people finding ways to evade tax.

Another Reddit user asked him about the conspiracy theory that he aims to track people by implanting microchips into their heads via vaccines. 

Mr Gates said the idea of chips in vaccines “does not make sense”. “Why would I want to know where people are? What would I do with the information?” he added.