Jim Cramer, CNBC, said on Tuesday that he owns some bitcoin and considers it one of several investment choices instead of parking large sums of money in cash, which in the current low interest rate environment basically earns zero.
“I own bitcoin. I’ve owned it for some time,” Cramer told Squawk Box. “It’s an alternative to a cash position, where you do absolutely nothing.”
“As a way to have a pastiche of things to use your cash with, I’m all for it. I think it’s almost irresponsible not to include bitcoin,” Cramer added, adding that he also views bitcoin as gold as a value store and protection against inflation.
The ‘Mad Money’ host talked about his personal view on bitcoin while responding to Tesla’s revelation that the electric carmaker is investing $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin and plans to adopt it as a payment method.
Bitcoin soared to more than $ 48,000 early on Tuesday, before some of the gains were linked, while buying continued one day after Elon Musk’s Tesla announced its investment, the latest proof of institutional interest in the world’s largest cryptocurrency .
“Bitcoin is exciting,” Cramer said. But he advised investors that it would be a good idea to hedge positions in the digital currency because it is so volatile and there are currently not many sellers.
Cramer called bitcoin ‘a bit bloated’, but pointed out that ‘there are many people who say it could amount to $ 100,000. ‘
One of the crypto investors who believe bitcoin could rise to the levels by the end of the year is Galaxy Digital founder Michael Novogratz, a former Fortress hedge fund manager.