The Chairman of the Board of the investment firm Sanders Morris Harris and former CEO of Prudential Securities, George Ball, has changed his attitude towards Bitcoin. Why he has gone from being a Bitcoin opponent to a Bitcoin advocate over the years.
In a video interview with the news channel Reuters, George Ball described himself as a long-time Bitcoin, Blockchain and crypto opponent. Now, however, he is of a different opinion. He told journalist Fred Katayama that Bitcoin or other crypto-currencies will soon be recognized as a safe investment. According to Ball, many wealthy investors or traders will invest in crypto-currencies after Labor Day (September 1).
Surprising turn of an earlier Bitcoin opponent
“I’ve never said this before, and I’ve always been a Blockchain, crypto-currency and Bitcoin opponent. But as you can see now, the government can’t stimulate the markets forever, the flood of liquidity will stop.” – George Ball
Here Ball refers to the actions of the US government and the Federal Reserve to compensate for the economic damage caused by the corona pandemic. Investors and traders will therefore turn to Bitcoin or similar investments as a hedge, according to Ball. When government aid programs expire, borrowed funds must be repaid. The crucial question – Ball said – is therefore how the government intends to finance this repayment.
“Will they raise taxes sharply or will they print money? If they print money that devalues the currency and probably even Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), they can be corrupted.” – George Ball
In view of this potential outcome, the very wealthy investor or trader will ‘probably resort to Bitcoin or something similar as an alternative’.
Other financial experts also turn to Bitcoin
Other traditional investors who have changed their mind:
Mark Cuban
Only six months ago, US entrepreneur Mark Cuban was of the opinion that even bananas were a better medium of exchange than Bitcoin, and had more intrinsic value. In a podcast with Bitcoin enthusiast Anthony Pompliano, however, he admitted
“On the potential benefits of Bitcoin, if it all goes [wrong] because we print so much money and there’s a global impact, Bitcoin can do something.” – Mark Cuban
Nevertheless, he remains rather skeptical as long as Bitcoin does not become more accessible to ordinary people.
JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon
In mid-2017, JP Morgan’s longstanding CEO Jamie Dimon described Bitcoin as “a fraud that will soon collapse”. He also said that he would immediately fire any JP Morgan dealer who tried to buy Bitcoin. It would be against their rules and it would be stupid.
Not long after that, JP Morgan released its own Blockchain platform “Quorum“, which may even soon be merged with one of the leading Blockchain companies Consensys. In addition they also want to issue their own token “JP Morgan Coin”, which will be used for transfers within their system.
In the meantime, US crypto exchanges can also work with JP Morgan, and in their latest analyses of the largest crypto currency they concluded that Bitcoin could be a long-lasting investment.
*Originally published in German at CVJ.ch
