CNBC financial firebrand Jim Cramer now thinks Bitcoin is a prudent investment asset.
Two years ago, the former hedge fund manager and current host of CNBC’s Mad Money considered Bitcoin an “outlaw currency” and proclaimed that the “tide has turned against [bitcoin].” While Cramer has been critical of Bitcoin, he says he’s finally putting his bets on BTC in a podcast with Anthony Pompliano.
“When I go to my inflation handbook, it says buy gold, buy masterpieces, and buy mansions…
What we didn’t have in that menu was crypto. I think that you have to have, I’m still going to say gold or crypto because I have so much gold, but you have to have one or the other, and I like what you’re saying about crypto.”
Cramer explains that his change of heart is due to the government’s monetary policies involving trillions of dollars worth of fiscal stimulus to combat the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I don’t know how my kids are going to pay down what happened. I think we had to do it to avoid a depression so I’m glad we did it. But I see the dollar going down and most importantly, I know that no one wants to raise taxes in this country, and even if we did raise taxes, we still can’t afford it. We’re not cutting social security. We’re not cutting medicare. We’re on a collision course which makes me feel great about the gold I own. But I do feel it’s perfectly logical to add crypto to the menu.”
Although Cramer particularly loves his gold, he says his children will probably have a different opinion on the precious metal.
“[My kids] will never understand gold. And the reason they will never understand gold is they think gold is dangerous. It’s dangerous because it can be stolen. It’s dangerous because they don’t want to take it out of the bank. It’s dangerous because they may forget where it is.”
The former hedge fund manager also expresses his excitement over the idea that he can actually generate passive income in Bitcoin while hedging against inflation.
“So this is why I am fixated on needing to own crypto, because I fear a massive amount of inflation, and I don’t have [any]. Gold will do okay. The houses will do okay. Those are going to keep me running in place as opposed to falling off a cliff. The idea of actually making money, well holy cow, I’ll take a shot at that with 1%. [of my portfolio].”
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