Tim Bond, portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, has warned that Bitcoin is pointless, calling the cryptocurrency a “particularly hideous asset class”. He claims Bitcoin has no real social utility other than as a speculative tool and a means to launder the proceeds of crime.
The fund manager sees Bitcoin as a hideous asset class
Tim Bond, partner and portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, recently warned about Bitcoin in an interview with Marketwatch. Founded in 1991 by billionaire Crispin Odey, the company currently manages over $ 3 billion in funds.
Prior to joining Odey Asset Management in 2010, Bond spent 12 years at Barclays Capital as Managing Director and Head of Global Asset Allocation. Previously, he worked as a portfolio strategist at Moore Capital and worked as a strategist and trader for Tokai Bank Europe for 10 years.
When the price of Bitcoin hit all-time highs several times this month, Bond was quoted as saying:
In my opinion, Bitcoin is a particularly obnoxious asset class. When Bitcoin begins to displace fiat currencies, governments’ ability to levy taxes, spending, and redistributions will be severely affected.
The fund manager announced that neither he nor his company has any stake in Bitcoin and initially warned that “Bitcoin has no other social benefit than an instrument for speculation and a vehicle for laundering the proceeds of crime,” the publication said.
He then claimed that Bitcoin could prevent society from functioning efficiently and ethically, claiming that the cryptocurrency was an “extreme form of libertarian anarchism”.
The Odey fund manager went on to talk about bitcoin mining, claiming that the activity “added carbon emissions equivalent to the annual output of a medium-sized advanced economy” In addition, Bond took the view that “as bitcoin prices rise, mining activity will increase and cause even higher carbon emissions,” said:
It is difficult to imagine any other human activity that is so pointless and so harmful to the planet at the same time.
Bitcoiners immediately went to Twitter to point out many flaws in Bond’s arguments and urged him to do more research before commenting on Bitcoin.
One Twitter user wrote, “This guy is catching up and freaking out. Every argument he makes was debunked 5 years ago. “Another intervened:” The worst understanding and highest reward for ignorance about Bitcoin today goes to Tim Bond of Odey Asset Management. Please do further research before making a fool of yourself. “
What do you think of Tim Bond’s views on Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below.
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