BILL Gates has issued a stark warning to fans of Elon Musk about the dangers posed by investing in cryptocurrencies.
In an interview, the 66-year-old Microsoft founder said that the crypto market was a huge risk for anyone with less cash than Musk.
That’s just about everyone when you consider that the SpaceX and Tesla CEO is the world’s richest person and is worth an estimated $229 billion.
Speaking to Bloomberg in February 2021, Gates was asked about the potential for Musk to make more money in a year from investments in Bitcoin than from selling Tesla electric cars.
Musk has been a vocal supporter of cryptocurrency for years, at times causing sharp swings in their values.
In October last year, Musk admitted to owning unspecified amounts of Bitcoin and Etherium – two of the world’s biggest cryptocurrencies.
He also has holdings of Dogecoin, a so-called “meme coin” created as a joke that he frequently tweets about.
Gates said that crypto investments are less risky for wealthy people such as Musk because they have vast reserves of cash to fall back on should the value of their purchases plummet.
He said: “Elon has tons of money and he’s very sophisticated so I don’t worry that his Bitcoin will randomly go up or down.
“I do think people get brought into these manias who may not have as much money to spare so I’m not bullish on Bitcoin.
“My thought would be if you have less money than Elon, watch out.”
Musk’s capacity to tank or balloon the value of cryptocurrencies with a single tweet has caused investors plenty of headaches down the years.
In February 2021, the billionaire tweeted “Doge” in reference to a cryptocurrency based on a popular internet meme.
He later tweeted, “Dogecoin is the people’s crypto.” Dogecoin surged more than 60 per cent.
In June that year, Bitcoin tumbled seven per cent after Musk tweeted “#Bitcoin”, a broken-heart emoji and a picture of a couple discussing a break-up.
He has also sent prices soaring with Twitter posts in which he said that Telsa would accept payments in Bitcoin and Dogecoin.
CNN reports that Tesla holds $2 billion worth of Bitcoin after making an initial investment of $1.5billion into the cryptocurrency last year.
Crypto investors have pleaded with the father of seven to stop tweeting about digital currencies and are urging fans not to follow his advice.
The tweets, which have been branded irresponsible by experts, have made some followers rich while leading others to squander huge wads of cash.
“Please don’t pay attention to what Elon Musk says about crypto because he is simply not an expert,” William Quigley, Managing Director of Magnetic, a cryptocurrency investing firm, told CNN last year.
Referencing tweets Musk made about Dogecoin at the time, he added: “I think for him it was more of a joke, but a lot of people, unfortunately, follow what he says.
“Maybe when it comes to energy-efficient cars look at what he does, but ignore anything he says about bitcoin and crypto in general.”
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