It's understandable to be skeptical about everything attached to money; including stocks, bonds, and annuities.
However, it's an entirely different thing to pass judgement on something you do not understand. This quote from Howard Marks wreaks of misunderstanding.
"In my view, digital currencies are nothing but an unfounded fad (or perhaps even a pyramid scheme), based on a willingness to ascribe value to something that has little or none beyond what people will pay for it."
His misunderstanding is the failure to associate value to something that has more than any fiat currency. Can I send USD from my bank to someone around the globe instantly? Can I write a smart contract at my bank for miniscule fees? Can I create an application that is running actively on a dollar bill?
The answer to all of the questions is no. Not even credit card companies offer these incredible features. In fact, their fees will soon run them out of business, once people associate cryptocurrencies to low fees.
Let's discredit everything I just listed. Let's assume that digital currencies weren't capable of any of those things. His argument that they offer no value would still make me scratch my head. Where does he think the dollar gets its value? Does he currently hold any fiat currencies or does he only hold physical objects in his portfolio? I already know the answer to that question.
Do I even have to mention that this man comes from a different era? He didn't grow up with computers and he probably is still used to placing trades on paper. This point should not be overlooked. I don't want to throw the older generation under the bus. Some older people have started to see the value in blockchains.
I don't even want to discuss the fact that Marks tried to associate this with the tulip mania...
What are your opinions on this billionaires view of digital currencies? Does this make you leery or do you stand on a solid foundation?
Cheers,
