A Guide To Who Loves And Hates Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have been some of the hottest investments in the world in recent years. This year alone, the Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC is up more than 476 percent. But while some investors are going all in on cryptocurrency as the future of payments, other investors see the volatile digital currencies as simply a speculative trading casino.

From On And Off Wall Street

High-profile investors and experts have weighed in on both sides of the argument. Here’s a rundown of what some of them have had to say.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase: "It's creating something out of nothing that to me is worth nothing," Dimon said of Bitcoin last month. "It will end badly."

Related Link: The Curious Case Of Bitcoin, Dimon And JPMorgan

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway: “Stay away from it. It's a mirage basically," Buffett said of Bitcoin on CNBC in 2014.

Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks: "Bias should be up because of finite supply. Until crypto or US politics intrude, and they will," Cuban tweeted about cryptocurrencies back in August.

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs: “Still thinking about #Bitcoin. No conclusion — not endorsing/rejecting. Know that folks also were skeptical when paper money displaced gold,” Blankfein tweeted recently.

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group: “I think it is working and there will be other currencies like it that may be even better, but in the meantime there’s a big industry around Bitcoin,” Branson said in 2014.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund: “Not so long ago, some experts argued that personal computers would never be adopted, and that tablets would only be used as expensive coffee trays. So I think it may not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies,” Lagarde said in September.

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser for Allianz: “It is a disruptive technology, but the current pricing assumes massive adoption, and I don't think that governments will allow the amount of adoption that is currently priced in,” El-Erian said of cryptocurrencies on CNBC in September.

Robert Shiller, Nobel Prize-winning Yale University economist: “The best example right now is Bitcoin,” Shiller told Quartz when asked to name the best current example of a speculative market. “And I think that has to do with the motivating quality of the Bitcoin story. And I’ve seen it in my students at Yale. You start talking about Bitcoin and they’re excited!”

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates: “It's not an effective (store) of wealth because it has volatility to it, unlike gold. Bitcoin is a highly speculative market. Bitcoin is a bubble,” Dalio told CNBC last month.

Seth Klarman, CEO of hedge fund Baupost Group: “Only in a bull market could an online ‘currency’ dubbed bitcoin surge 100-fold in one year, as it did in 2013,” Klarman wrote in a 2014 letter to investors. “While Bitcoin is yet another bandwagon we are happy to let pass us by, the thinking behind cryptocurrencies may contain a kernel of rationality.”

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