{"id":132451,"date":"2020-12-13T17:47:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T14:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-12-13T17:47:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T14:47:00","slug":"publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"# Publicly recanted! Luminaries who came to terms with crypto in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40212b0c94e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40212b0c94e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Nouriel_Roubini_economist\" >Nouriel Roubini, economist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Stanley_Druckenmiller_investor\" >Stanley Druckenmiller, investor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Larry_Fink_CEO_of_BlackRock\" >Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Niall_Ferguson_economic_historian\" >Niall Ferguson, economic historian<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Jim_Cramer_financial_media_pundit\" >Jim Cramer, financial media pundit<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Dan_Schulman_CEO_of_PayPal\" >Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Izabella_Kaminska_financial_journalist\" >Izabella Kaminska, financial journalist<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Ray_Dalio_hedge_fund_founder\" >Ray Dalio, hedge fund founder<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\/#Gaining_traction_as_a_store_of_value\" >Gaining traction as a store of value<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># Publicly recanted! Luminaries who came to terms with crypto in 2020<br \/>\n<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjAtMTIvOGM4ZjMwMTItMDhiYS00MjJiLTk3ZTgtNTE1M2Y1MmMyNWUyLmpwZw==.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-5a136f3a>\nHumans, being only human, tend to hang on to their cherished beliefs \u2014 even in the face of overwhelming contradiction. That\u2019s why recantations \u2014 that is, public acts of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.cambridge.org\/us\/dictionary\/english\/recantation\">refuting a previously held opinion<\/a> \u2014 are so rare. This year, however, has presented several notable changes of heart where Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies were concerned \u2014 abetted, perhaps, by BTC\u2019s climb to record price levels. Here are eight of the year\u2019s more memorable turnarounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Nouriel_Roubini_economist\"><\/span>Nouriel Roubini, economist<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Crypto\u2019s most ferocious critic recanted in 2020. Roubini, an NYU professor of economics who gained fame by predicting the 2007\u20132009 housing bubble, has in recent years heaped scorn on cryptocurrencies and blockchain <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>What he said in 2018: Part of Roubini\u2019s testimony for the United States Senate went viral: \u201cCrypto is the mother of all scams and (now busted) bubbles.\u201d He also <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.banking.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Roubini%20Testimony%2010-11-18.pdf\">called<\/a> blockchain \u201cthe most over-hyped technology ever, no better than a spreadsheet\/database\u201d \u2014 and this was just the title of his testimony.<\/p>\n<p>In his Senate visit, Roubini compared Bitcoin \u201cto other famous historical bubbles and scams \u2014 like Tulip-mania, the Mississippi Bubble, the South Sea Bubble.\u201d He noted that Bitcoin\u2019s price increases had been two or three times larger than that of previous bubbles, followed by \u201censuing collapse and bust as fast and furious and deeper.\u201d At the time, Bitcoin was somewhat in the doldrums, selling at about $6,300.<\/p>\n<p>What he said recently: In a Nov. 6, 2020 interview, Roublini <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/video\/not-scaleable-not-secure-not-220948739.html\">admitted<\/a> that Bitcoin \u2014 selling at about $15,500 at the time \u2014 might qualify as a \u201cpartial store of value,\u201d primarily because of its algorithm that limits supply to 21 million BTC. Of course, Roubini also declared that Bitcoin \u201cis not scalable, it\u2019s not secure, it\u2019s not decentralized, it\u2019s not a currency,\u201d and that it would be made irrelevant or \u201ccrowded out\u201d within three years by central bank digital currencies. <\/p>\n<p>Still, everything is relative. The professor\u2019s partial pullback prompted economic historian Niall Ferguson to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2020-11-29\/bitcoin-and-china-are-winning-the-covid-19-monetary-revolution\">comment<\/a>: \u201cIf I were as fond of hyperbole as he [Roubini] is, I would call this the biggest conversion since St. Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stanley_Druckenmiller_investor\"><\/span>Stanley Druckenmiller, investor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Investor and hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller \u2014 the man who \u201cbroke the Bank of England\u201d along with George Soros in 1992 by betting against the British pound \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared to abandon his previous crypto skepticism in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>What he said then: \u201cI look at Bitcoin as a solution in search of a problem,\u201d Druckenmiller <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=r7kMSqgruOY&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=2578\">told<\/a> the Economic Club of New York in June 2019. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why we need this thing. [&#8230;] I wouldn\u2019t be short it, I wouldn\u2019t be long it. [&#8230;] I don\u2019t understand why it\u2019s a store of value.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>What he says now: In November 2020, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2020\/11\/09\/stanley-druckenmiller-says-he-wouldnt-want-to-be-short-market-sees-stock-rotation-continuing.html\">worried<\/a> about the United States Federal Reserve\u2019s Covid-related stimulus efforts, Druckenmiller <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/status\/1325877011831721984\">told<\/a> CNBC that he now likes Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, perhaps even more than gold: <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has a lot of attraction as a store of value both to Millennials and the new West Coast money. [&#8230;] It\u2019s been around for 13 years and with each passing day it picks up more of its stabilization as a brand. [&#8230;] Frankly, if the gold bet works, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/status\/1325877011831721984\">the Bitcoin bet will probably work better<\/a> because it\u2019s thinner, more illiquid and has a lot more beta to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Larry_Fink_CEO_of_BlackRock\"><\/span>Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>More institutional investors began to notice crypto in 2020. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world\u2019s largest asset manager, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Andrewstotle\/status\/1334113698554720263\">told<\/a> the Council on Foreign Relations in December regarding Bitcoin: \u201cMany people are fascinated about it, many people are excited about it.\u201d His remarks came less than two weeks after Rick Rieder, BlackRock\u2019s chief investment officer of fixed income, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/video\/2020\/11\/20\/blackrocks-rick-rieder-economy-may-perform-better-than-expected-in-2021.html\">told<\/a> CNBC that \u201cBitcoin is here to stay. [&#8230;] Bitcoin will take the place of gold to a large extent.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>What he said in 2017:<em> <\/em>Speaking at a meeting of the Institute of International Finance shortly after BTC reached its all-time high above $5,800 in October 2017, Fink <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/10\/13\/blackrock-ceo-larry-fink-calls-bitcoin-an-index-of-money-laundering.html\">said<\/a>: \u201cBitcoin just shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world. [&#8230;] That\u2019s all it is. It\u2019s an index of money laundering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What he says now:<em> <\/em>In his dialog at the Council of Foreign Relations, Fink said, \u201cWe look at it as something that\u2019s real,\u201d adding that among three topics discussed recently on BlackRock\u2019s website \u2014 COVID-19, monetary policy and Bitcoin \u2014 the hits for each topic were 3,000 on COVID, 3,000 on monetary policy, and 600,000 on Bitcoin. \u201cWhat that tells you is that Bitcoin has caught the attention and the imagination of many people,\u201d said Fink, adding that BTC was still untested and comprised a very small slice of overall asset markets. <\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Niall_Ferguson_economic_historian\"><\/span>Niall Ferguson, economic historian<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ferguson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, is one of the world\u2019s best-known economic historians. Author of <em>The Ascent of Money<\/em>, he has been weighing in on crypto as far back as 2014 \u2014 and not always favorably. <\/p>\n<p>What he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afr.com\/business-summit\/i-was-very-wrong-niall-ferguson-on-cypto-20190306-h1c23w\">said<\/a> in 2014: Digital currencies are a \u201ccomplete delusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What he says now: \u201cBitcoin and China are winning the COVID-19 monetary revolution.\u201d That, at least, was the headline he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/opinion\/articles\/2020-11-29\/bitcoin-and-china-are-winning-the-covid-19-monetary-revolution\">wrote<\/a> in an opinion piece for Bloomberg in late 2020, which had as a subheading: \u201cThe virtual currency is scarce, sovereign and a great place for the rich to store their wealth.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>To be fair, Ferguson backpedaled on his \u201cCrypto is a delusion\u201d remark in early 2019, and even <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Nouriel\/status\/1094024061934620677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1094024061934620677%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcryptonews.com%2Fnews%2Fanother-famous-expert-changes-stance-on-crypto-3485.htm\">joined<\/a> a blockchain project, Ampleforth, that year. However, his recent screed suggests he has gone even further now \u2014 reconstituting himself as a fully fledged Bitcoin bull. \u201cBitcoin is gradually being adopted not so much as a means of payment but as a store of value,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n<p>Two features were particularly attractive, in Ferguson\u2019s view: Bitcoin\u2019s limited supply (\u201cBuilt-in scarcity in a virtual world characterized by boundless abundance\u201d) and its sovereignty (\u201cusers can pay without going through inter<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>ries such as banks. They can transact without needing governments to enforce settlement\u201d).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jim_Cramer_financial_media_pundit\"><\/span>Jim Cramer, financial media pundit<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When Bitcoin went on a tear back in December 2017, CNBC\u2019s Jim Cramer was unimpressed. \u201cBitcoin\u2019s not going to replace gold anytime soon,\u201d he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/12\/19\/cramers-charts-reveal-bitcoin-is-not-replacing-gold-anytime-soon.html\">assured<\/a> viewers. Three years later, Cramer has recalibrated. Maybe he was living too much in the past, he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/05AdbeLbltceIgrc7otZvN\">confided<\/a> to Anthony Pompliano in a Sept. 15 podcast: \u201cI have to start recognizing that maybe I am using a typewriter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What he said: \u201cSooner or later, this thing [Bitcoin] is going to run out of steam,\u201d Cramer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/12\/07\/cramer-bitcoin-is-suspicious-for-5-reasons.html\">predicted<\/a> in a 2017 <em>Mad Money<\/em> segment titled, \u201cIs Bitcoin the New Gold Alternative?\u201d outlining five reasons he was suspicious of BTC: 1) No one knows who invented it; 2) No one knows how much the creator(s) kept for themselves; 3) The network lacks transparency; 4) It has no government support; and 5) It is based on nothing but software, which can be hacked. <\/p>\n<p>What he says now:<em> <\/em>\u201cIt\u2019s perfectly logical to add crypto to the [inflation hedge] menu,\u201d along with real estate, art masterpieces and gold, Cramer told Pompliano while voicing his concerns about recent COVID-related stimulus activity that might be inflating the United States dollar. What Cramer <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=844xuTWCRgM\">liked<\/a> about Bitcoin \u201cis the scarcity of it. [&#8230;] My kids when they get my inheritance won\u2019t feel comfortable with gold [but they] will feel comfortable with crypto.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dan_Schulman_CEO_of_PayPal\"><\/span>Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In late October, PayPal Holdings Inc. announced that it would allow users to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC), as well as use these cryptocurrencies for payment at its 28 million merchants globally. This marked a new leaf for the giant payments firm and its CEO, Dan Schulman.<\/p>\n<p>What he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thestreet.com\/investing\/bitcoin\/paypal-ceo-says-bitcoin-unsuitable-14440152\">said<\/a> in 2018: Crypto\u2019s volatility \u201cmakes it unsuitable to be a real currency that retailers can accept,\u201d Schulman told TheStreet in 2018. \u201cI think you need to separate out the Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies as currencies and the underlying protocol called blockchain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What he says now:<em> <\/em>\u201cThere\u2019s no question that people are flocking to digital payments and digital forms of currency,\u201d Schulman <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/video\/2020\/11\/23\/paypal-ceo-dan-schulman-on-why-the-company-is-getting-into-cryptocurrency.html\">told<\/a> CNBC.<\/p>\n<p>So, how can Schulman\u2019s and PayPal\u2019s new stance be explained? In 2020, PayPal was reportedly feeling some heat from another payments firm, Square, which for several years has allowed BTC purchases through its profitable Cash App unit. <\/p>\n<p>Indeed, only two weeks before PayPal\u2019s Oct. 21 crypto announcement, Square declared that it had purchased $50 million in Bitcoin for its corporate treasury. By comparison, PayPal and Schulman had been more cautious regarding cryptocurrencies. <\/p>\n<p>With the COVID crisis, however, the use of cash has \u201cdeclined precipitously \u2014 something like 40\u201370%,\u201d the PayPal CEO <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/video\/2020\/11\/23\/paypal-ceo-dan-schulman-on-why-the-company-is-getting-into-cryptocurrency.html\">told<\/a> Squawk Box co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin in November. As noted, PayPal will allow customers to use crypto as a funding source for transactions in any of its merchant sites as of early 2021, but the firm will first convert the crypto into fiat currency before paying retailers. PayPal, not retailers, in other words, will be assuming the crypto\u2019s price volatility risk. <\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Izabella_Kaminska_financial_journalist\"><\/span>Izabella Kaminska, financial journalist<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>On the matter of Bitcoin, \u201cfinancial journalists, too, are capitulating,\u201d noted Ferguson. In late November, \u201cthe Financial Times\u2019s Izabella Kaminska, a long-time cryptocurrency skeptic, conceded that Bitcoin had a valid use-case as a hedge against a dystopian future.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>What she said in 2016: <em> <\/em>Writing in the Financial Times, which she joined in 2008 and for which she is the editor of FT Alphaville, Kaminska <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/4b95a6b2-2d7e-3fea-823c-baadfb81c58e\">declared<\/a>: \u201cWhat is clear is that thus far the technology which was supposed to be revolutionizing finance and making it more secure (oddly, by skirting regulations) is looking awfully like the old technology which ran the system into the ground.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>What she says now: \u201cWas all the trouble of creating it [Bitcoin] really worth while? Surprisingly, for a long-term critic, I\u2019m going to say yes,\u201d Kaminska <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/d4fc86df-a1df-4b4c-9684-c6e8abfb018e\">wrote<\/a> in a Nov. 24, 2020 FT piece.<\/p>\n<p>What changed? Not Kaminska\u2019s fundamental view of the cryptocurrency, at least. BTC remains \u201can intrinsically volatile and inelastic form of money\u201d and is unlikely to ever become a widely used form of currency. \u201cYet there is one scenario that changes everything: a world in which no government is prepared to stand up for true civil liberties or free enterprise,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Such a scenario seemed far-fetched only a year ago, but with the COVID-19 crisis, it\u2019s now at least imaginable. For a future \u201cin which the world slips towards authoritarianism and civil liberties cannot be taken for granted [&#8230;] Bitcoin\u2019s anonymous security acts as a hedge against the worst of dystopian realities\u201d \u2014 that is, as a sort of doomsday contingency system \u2014 and for that, \u201cI am glad someone created Bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ray_Dalio_hedge_fund_founder\"><\/span>Ray Dalio, hedge fund founder<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world\u2019s largest hedge fund. Dalio surprised Reddit users recently when he <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/IAmA\/comments\/k9b4g8\/im_ray_daliofounder_of_bridgewater_associates_we\/\">acknowledged<\/a> that over the past 10 years, Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies \u201chave established themselves as interesting gold-like asset alternatives.\u201d Until recently, Dalio was regarded as a staunch crypto skeptic.<\/p>\n<p>What he said in 2017: \u201cBitcoin is a bubble,\u201d Dalio <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/09\/19\/ray-dalio-says-bitcoin-is-bubble.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBitcoin%20today%20you%20can't%20make%20much%20transactions%20in%20it.&amp;text=Bitcoin%20is%20a%20bubble%2C%E2%80%9D%20Ray,Bridgewater%20Associates%20founder%20tells%20CNBC.\">told<\/a> CNBC. He claimed the token\u2019s volatility makes it a poor store of value, and a holder would be hard-pressed to spend it anywhere. \u201cBitcoin is a highly speculative market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What he says now:<em> <\/em>In his Dec. 8 Reddit \u201cAsk Me Anything\u201d session, Dalio opined that Bitcoin might now serve effectively as a \u201cdiversifier to gold,\u201d given BTC\u2019s limited supply and its mobility \u2014 unlike real estate, for example. Like some other investors who have reversed their positions on crypto recently, Dalio was worried about the \u201cdepreciating value of money\u201d in the post-pandemic global economy.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Gaining_traction_as_a_store_of_value\"><\/span>Gaining traction as a store of value<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Indeed, if there is one thread running 2020\u2019s recantations, it\u2019s fear of inflation in the wake of economic stimulus measures taken by governments to avoid post-COVID economic collapse. Bitcoin may or may never become a useful medium of exchange, but it has clearly gained traction as a store of value, as its former critics now concede.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/publicly-recanted-luminaries-who-came-to-terms-with-crypto-in-2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# Publicly recanted! Luminaries who came to terms with crypto in 2020 &#8221; Humans, being only human, tend to hang on to their cherished beliefs \u2014 even in the face of overwhelming contradiction. That\u2019s why recantations \u2014 that is, public acts of refuting a previously held opinion \u2014 are so rare. This year, however, has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s3.cointelegraph.com\/uploads\/2020-12\/8c8f3012-08ba-422b-97e8-5153f52c25e2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74862,74894,83485,76574,1545],"class_list":["post-132451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-bitcoin","tag-blockchain","tag-new-years-special","tag-paypal","tag-coronavirus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}