Ray Dalio suggests that investors allocate 15% to gold or Bitcoin, stating that he personally holds a small amount of Bitcoin
ChainCatcher news reports that billionaire Ray Dalio suggests investors allocate 15% of their portfolios to Bitcoin and gold to hedge against the growing U.S. debt and economic instability.Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, stated in the "Masters in Business" podcast that the macroeconomic risks of rising government debt in the U.S. and other countries have not yet been priced into the market, and the market may ultimately face a significant downturn. The U.S. government "spends 40% more than it earns and cannot really cut spending; its accumulated debt is six times its income, with annual interest payments reaching $1 trillion, which is half of its budget deficit."Ray Dalio further explained that the U.S. government can only repay its debt by issuing more debt and "the central bank (Federal Reserve) printing money." This creates a situation where the market may become increasingly panicked. Dalio believes that the trigger for a major collapse could be a new round of large-scale quantitative easing or government control over the Federal Reserve. Signals of such events have begun to "flash or flicker," and he has expressed similar views in his recently published book, "How the Nation Goes Bankrupt."Since such risks have not been factored into market prices, Ray Dalio recommends that investors allocate at least 15% of their portfolios to gold or Bitcoin, which can serve as a hedge against fiat currencies and cash equivalents (such as bonds). However, he personally "strongly prefers" gold over Bitcoin, as he doubts whether any central bank would use cryptocurrency as a reserve currency, "because everyone can understand and observe who is using it for what transactions, so it has no privacy."Ray Dalio also stated that there is "doubt" about whether "the code can be cracked" or whether the Bitcoin protocol can be changed to make it a valid store of value. Given these concerns, gold is more important than Bitcoin in Ray Dalio's own portfolio. He said, "I have gold, and I have some Bitcoin, but not much."