Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio says Bitcoin still has a long way to go before it can be taken seriously as a global reserve currency, despite holding a small personal allocation himself.
Dalio, who has previously mentioned owning bitcoin BTC $87,165.80, clarified that the cryptocurrency makes up roughly 1% of his investment portfolio. “I have a small percentage of bitcoin,” he told CNBC on Thursday. “I’ve had it forever—about 1% of my portfolio.”
But while he remains a holder, Dalio argued that bitcoin’s structural limitations prevent it from becoming a reserve asset for sovereign nations. He pointed to its traceability, its openly transparent transaction history, and vulnerabilities that could emerge as quantum computing technology advances.
“The issue with bitcoin is that it’s not going to be a reserve currency for major countries,” Dalio said. “It can be tracked, and with quantum computing, it could conceivably be controlled or hacked.” He noted that governments are unlikely to rely on a system where every financial transaction is permanently visible on a public ledger.
Dalio recently urged investors to consider allocating around 15% of their portfolios to bitcoin and gold—though he emphasized that he still prefers gold. “The advantage of gold is you can hold it directly, and it doesn’t depend on anyone else,” he said.
On a broader economic front, Dalio warned that the U.S. is nearing the late stages of a financial bubble. He estimates the economy is roughly 80% of the way toward conditions similar to those leading up to the 1929 crash and the dot-com collapse of 2000. His assessment is based on a proprietary bubble gauge that analyzes data dating back to 1900, including leverage levels, money supply growth, and wealth concentration.
“We’re clearly operating in bubble territory,” Dalio said.
