Though it might seem ridiculous by today’s standards, as recently as 2017 conventional wisdom stated that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were too risky at best and worthless at worst. That perspective is increasingly less conventional; these days, industry experts and billionaires alike are changing their tune, perhaps none so dramatically as Oaktree Capital Management Co-Founder Howard Marks.
Marks has a history of negative remarks about Bitcoin: in 2017, he dismissed the currency as being without any real value, and said he had yet to hear any compelling arguments in favor of cryptocurrency. In a recent podcast appearance, however, Marks favorably compared Bitcoin to gold, representing a significant shift in how seriously cryptocurrency is taken in the financial world.
According to Marks, Bitcoin has several advantages in common with gold, such as having the potential to be both inflation-resistant and crisis-resistant. What’s more, Marks explains, Bitcoin has several points in its favor compared to gold, such as costing nothing to store or transfer. In an industry that is increasingly concerned with empowering the world’s large unbanked population, those can be exactly the kind of strengths that push Bitcoin to the top of the pyramid in terms of value and usability.
