Crypto is too risky
Gates’ skepticism of Bitcoin and other crypto assets isn’t a recent phenomenon. Back in 2021, the tech billionaire said he wasn’t a fan of the asset because of its volatility.
“I do think that people get bought into these manias who maybe don't have as much money to spare. So I'm not bullish on Bitcoin,” Gates shared with Bloomberg. He suggested that the unpredictable fluctuations in Bitcoin’s market price made it a better fit for those who were already financially secure, such as fellow billionaire Elon Musk.
“Elon has tons of money and he's very sophisticated so I don't worry that his Bitcoin will randomly go up or down,” Gates added. “My general thought would be that if you have less money than Elon then you should probably watch out.”
According to BlackRock’s calculations, Bitcoin is 3.9 and 4.6 times more volatile than gold and global equities, respectively. This volatility is clear to anyone who has seen a recent price chart of the asset — each Bitcoin traded at just USD$42,000 at the start of 2024 before hitting USD$106,000 by December, and then dropping back to USD$85,000 as of February, 2025.
For some, these wild ups and downs suggest the crypto asset class is still speculative, which makes it unsuitable for risk-averse investors. However, for someone with an appetite for risk, there is a way to add cryptocurrency exposure without compromising your overall portfolio.
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Not all wealthy investors are as cautious as Gates, but even the most adventurous ones understand the need for a strategic approach with robust guardrails for their risky ventures.
Billionaire Mark Cuban, for instance, has been a fan of cryptocurrencies for several years. In 2017, he shared his approach to high-risk bets with Vanity Fair. “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.”
Since the value of Bitcoin is up 1,300% since that interview aired, the potential upside may have justified the risk of losing 10% of your portfolio.
Musk seems to have taken a similar approach. As of 2025, there are 11,509 BTC on Tesla’s balance sheet collectively worth less than USD$1 billion — a fraction of the company’s market capitalization and Musk’s personal net worth.
With this in mind, investors with an appetite for risk and sizable investments in other secure assets can consider putting a small fraction of their portfolio in relatively risky (but fun) assets like cryptocurrencies.
Sources
1. DATAROMA: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust (Dec 31, 2024)
2. The Associated Press: Bill Gates owns a lot of American farmland, but not the majority by Philip Marcelo (May 2, 2022)
3. Daily Mail: Bill Gates' withering assessment on wildly popular investment: 'People with high IQs have fooled themselves' by Tilly Armstrong (Feb 3, 2025)
4. Indy100: Bill Gates urges people not to make one hugely popular investment by Sinead Butler (Feb 4, 2025)
5. iShares: Bitcoin volatility guide: Trends & insights for investors by Jay Jacobs (July 11, 2024)
6. CoinMarketCap: Bitcoin price today
7. YouTube: Mark Cuban’s Guide to Getting Rich | Vanity Fair (Oct 8, 2017)
8. Bitcoin Treasuries: Bitcoin Treasuries
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