Wall Street magnate John Bogle has warned investors to keep their money away from the bitcoin industry.
Jack Bogle, a legendary investor and founder of Vanguard Group, an investment firm managing $4.5 trillion in global assets, has poured scorn on bitcoin as an asset at a time when the decentralized cryptocurrency is valued above $10,000.
At 88 years old, the now-retired chairman of the Vanguard Group was present at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York on Tuesday when an audience member sought his opinion on bitcoin.
In remarks reported by Bloomberg, Bogle was sharp in his response, stating:
Avoid bitcoin like the plague. Did I make myself clear?
“Bitcoin has no underlying rate of return,” Bogle added, pointing to bonds relying on interest coupons, stocks with earnings and dividends. “Gold has nothing,” he added, before quickly turning to bitcoin again. “There is nothing to support bitcoin except the hope that you will sell it to someone for more than you paid for it,” he reportedly said.
Bitcoin has gone stratospheric this year, rising nearly 1,100% since the turn of 2017 after hitting a fresh all-time high of $10,948 (Coinbase) today.
Bogle is adamant in his belief that bitcoin is overvalued, opining that the value of the world’s first cryptocurrency could double before predicting a seismic correction.
“It’s crazy to invest in the digital asset,” he said, adding:
Bitcoin may well go to $20,000 but that won’t prove I’m wrong. When it gets back to $100, we’ll talk.
Bogle is only the latest Wall Street figure to join the list of nearby naysayers. The most vocal and infamous quote of all came earlier in September when noted skeptic and JP Morgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon labeled bitcoin a “fraud” that will see someone “going to get killed.”