Seth Klarman: “Cryptocurrency is just catnip for techies”

The American billionaire, investor and hedge fund manager believes that the world does not need more than 10 cryptocurrencies, since it is more meaningless.

Seth Klarman gave interview Harvard Business School, where he shared his thoughts on the current state of the cryptocurrency industry. The businessman said that he does not see much point in cryptocurrencies and considers them to be something like “catnip for techies”, an entertaining toy, behind the idealistic ideas of which there is nothing:

“It seems crazy to me that we use more electricity to mine cryptocurrencies than all of Iceland does for ourselves. For solving mathematical problems. I don’t think they need to be addressed. Why do people need 10 or 50 digital currencies? I do not understand. I think it could end very badly.”

Klarman manages the portfolio of Boston-based hedge fund Baupost Group, which he co-founded back in 1982. Currently, the investment company manages about $30 billion, and the fortune of Klarman himself, according to Forbes, is estimated at $1.5 billion.

According to the businessman, gold has always been valued during crises, and he believes in the precious metal. At the same time, according to the billionaire, the US dollar will not lose its advantage due to the crisis. As it was the world’s reserve currency, it will remain so:

“There are too many uncertainties with digital currencies. It’s hard for me to imagine people accepting cryptocurrencies.”

Earlier, the founder of the investment company Equity Group Investments, billionaire Samuel Zell, said that he had never invested in bitcoin, because without the support of the government, this cryptocurrency is doomed to failure.