The billionaire and philanthropist, Bill Gates, recently dismissed the notion of investing in crypto and NFT-based projects. In fact, instead of having a diplomatic stand, Gates made a direct statement that he considers NFTs as shams and fool’s theory. During the climate conference, Bill Gates talked about digital assets in reference to past criticism.
Bill Gates on NFTs and Crypto Assets
During the 2022 climate change conference, Bill Gates iterated that “expensive digital images of apes are bound to save the world.” But this was not the first sarcastic comment from Bill Gates on cryptocurrencies. In fact, during an event at Berkeley, California – Bill Gates stated that he’s not interested in the short or long-form asset class. Unlike previous criticism, Gates’ comments on crypto now have become more direct.
Past Criticisms from Bill Gates
Back in 2015, Gates pointed out the urgency and difficulty to hire Silicon Valley-based engineers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during a conference. Of course, a billionaire like Elon Musk has a different stance on crypto and NFTs. However, he understands the foundational concerns of NFTs and digital assets and how they may not be the right solution to combat the climate change situation.
Long-term Applications of NFTs and Crypto Assets
In a broader sense, Bill Gates is probably aware of the fact that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had had a significant decline in the last few months. Not to mention, top-tier NFT collection like BAYC has lost significant market value. You can look at these drop downs through the context of US inflation. This, in turn, has managed to stop withdrawals from lending platforms.
Rising Popularity and Concerns around Crypto Assets and NFTs
In line with NFTs and crypto assets, it is hard to overstate the popularity and practicality of both. Still, there are concerns among billionaires, inventors, entrepreneurs, and business leaders as to how NFTs and crypto-assets serve in the best interest of the global financial system and ecosystem as a whole.
Efficient Digital Banking
On the flip side, Gates continues to defend his position in support of digital banking through his multiple philanthropic foundations. In fact, Gates describes digital banking as 100x more efficient and practical than cryptocurrencies. Similarly, someone like Michael Bloomberg also supports breakthrough energy startups and ventures.
Collective Perspective on NFTs and Crypto Assets
For most people, it did not come as a surprise that Bill Gates showed complete disinterest in the rise of crypto assets and NFTs. Market experts believe that Gates is not feeling the hype of NFTs and the crypto craze. And part of it has to do with the mechanics of the technology and its long-term impact on the environment.
Greater Fool’s Theory
But during the 2022 climate change conference, the sarcastic comments from Gates started to trend on Twitter and Facebook. Of course, Gates understands that non-fungible tokens have had a great impression on entrepreneurs and business leaders in different industries. But at the same time, Gates characterizes crypto and NFTs through the lens of a greater fool theory, which implies that someone pays more for an asset than there is a need to.
The theory of greater fool usually refers to people who make investments on highly overvalued assets despite the underlying value. In this theory, the investor hopes that somebody else is bound to enter and pay more money for it. As of now, Gates maintains the position that crypto-assets don’t possess genuine value and don’t add much to the global society.
