Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates is not bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) and is cautioning others to reconsider such investments — unless they have more money than Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.
What Happened: Gates told Bloomberg on Monday that he isn’t worried about Musk’s Bitcoin randomly going up or down.
“Elon has tons of money and he is very sophisticated,” the tech entrepreneur said, adding that he is more concerned about people getting into such manias who don’t have as much money to spare.
“If you have less money than Elon, you should probably watch out,” Gates told Bloomberg.
The philanthropist explained that he is not keen on Bitcoin, primarily because of the amount of electricity it consumes and the promotion of irreversible anonymous transactions. and that he is more enthusiastic about digital currencies.
“Digital money is a good thing,” Gates said, claiming the difference lies in terms of being regulatory-compliant and still giving the convenience and low-cost associated with cryptocurrency transactions.
Why It Matters: Gates told CNBC last week that he was “neutral” on Bitcoin and acknowledged the cryptocurrency’s role in bringing down transaction costs.
Gates also showered praises on Musk in a New York Times podcast, dubbing the entrepreneur’s work with Tesla “one of the greatest contributions to climate change anyone’s ever made.”
Musk has been increasingly tweeting about cryptocurrencies this year, in particular, the joke cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE).
The Tesla CEO’s tweets often move markets and several people, including those in the cryptocurrency community, have expressed concern over such statements from the world’s second-richest person.
The electric vehicle maker also announced a $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin this month, but Musk said the move wasn’t “directly reflective of my opinion.”
Price Action: Bitcoin traded 14.3% lower at $47.906.71 at press time on Tuesday. Tesla shares are down 3.8% in the pre-market session at $687.