A fund manager warned that Bitcoin is pointless and it is ‘a particularly vile asset class’
A portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, Tim Bond, has warned that bitcoin is pointless, naming the cryptocurrency “a particularly vile asset class.” He says that bitcoin has no real social utility but only as a tool for speculation and a means to launder the proceeds of crime.
Tim Bond, a partner and portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, warned about bitcoin in an interview with Marketwatch. Established in 1991 by billionaire Crispin Odey, the firm now has over $3 billion in funds under its management.
Before joining Odey Asset Management in 2010, Bond spent 12 years at Barclays Capital as the managing director and head of global asset allocation. He worked previously at Moore Capital as a portfolio strategist and then spent 10 years as a strategist and trader for Tokai Bank Europe.
As Bitcoin’s price hit all-time highs many times this month, Bond was quoted as saying:
“To my mind, bitcoin is a particularly vile asset class. If bitcoin starts to displace fiat currencies, governments’ ability to tax, spend and redistribute will be severely impaired.”
Revealing that neither he nor his company has any holdings in Bitcoin, the fund manager began by warning that “bitcoin has no real social utility other than as a tool for speculation and a means to launder the proceeds of crime,” the publication stated.
He also claimed that bitcoin can prevent society from functioning in an efficient and ethical manner, saying that the cryptocurrency is an “extreme form of libertarian anarchism.”
The Odey fund manager then talked about bitcoin mining, saying that the activity “added CO2 emissions equivalent to the annual output of a medium-sized advanced economy.” Additionally, Bond further commented that “as the bitcoin price rallies, so the mining activity will intensify, producing even higher levels of CO2 emissions,” explaining:
“It is difficult to think of any other human activity that is simultaneously quite so pointless and quite so damaging to the planet.”
Bitcoiners quickly wrote on Twitter to point out many flaws in Bond’s arguments, urging him to do more research before making a comment on Bitcoin.
A Twitter user wrote: “This guy is just now catching up and freaking out. Every argument he makes was debunked 5 years ago.” Another joined in: “Worst understanding and highest ignorance reward on bitcoin today goes to Tim Bond from Odey Asset Management. Do some more research please before making a fool of yourself.”
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