Tim Bond, a portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, has warned that bitcoin is meaningless, calling the cryptocurrency a particularly low asset class. ‘He claims that bitcoin has no real social utility other than as a tool for speculation and a way to launder the proceeds of crime.
Fund manager views Bitcoin as a fraudulent asset class
Tim Bond, a partner and portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, warned in a recent interview with Marketwatch about bitcoin. The business was founded in 1991 by billionaire Crispin Odey and currently has more than $ 3 billion in funds under management.
Prior to joining Odey Asset Management in 2010, Bond spent 12 years at Barclays Capital as Managing Director and Head of Global Asset Allocation. He previously worked at Moore Capital as a portfolio strategist and spent ten years as a strategist and trader for Tokai Bank Europe.
As the price of bitcoin has peaked several times this month, Bond is said to:
In my opinion, bitcoin is a particularly bad asset class. If bitcoin begins to displace fiat currencies, governments’ ability to tax, spend and redistribute will be severely hampered.
The fund manager revealed that neither he nor his company has an interest in bitcoin, and warned that ‘bitcoin has no real social benefit other than as a tool for speculation and a way to launder the proceeds of crime, ‘transferred the publication.
He then claims that bitcoin can prevent society from functioning in an efficient and ethical way, and claims that the cryptocurrency is an ‘extreme form of libertarian anarchism’.
The Odey fund manager went on to talk about bitcoin mining, claiming that the activity “added CO2 emissions equivalent to the annual output of a medium-sized advanced economy.” In addition, Bond believes that ‘as the bitcoin price rises, mining activity will increase and yield even higher levels of CO2 emissions’, explaining:
It’s hard to think of any other human activity that is so aimless and harmful to the planet at the same time.
Bitcoiners immediately went to Twitter to point out many flaws in Bond’s arguments and encouraged him to do more research before commenting on bitcoin. One Twitter user wrote: ‘This guy is catching up and freaking out right now. Every argument he makes was exposed five years ago. Another said: ‘The worst understanding and highest ignorance reward on bitcoin today goes to Tim Bond of Odey Asset Management. Please do more research before you go crazy. “
What do you think of Tim Bond’s view of bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below.
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