Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones Now Prefers Crypto Over Gold as Inflation Hedge

Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones says that bitcoin is currently “winning the race against gold.” He added that the cryptocurrency is his preferred inflation hedge over gold.

Paul Tudor Jones Chooses Bitcoin Over Gold

Paul Tudor Jones, the founder of asset management firm Tudor Investment Corp., talked about bitcoin being his preferred hedge against inflation in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. He said:

Clearly, there’s a place for crypto. Clearly, it’s winning the race against gold at the moment … It would be my preferred one over gold at the moment.

“I’ve got crypto in single digits in my portfolio,” he continued. “I do think we are moving into an increasingly digitized world.”

Jones said he is worried about rising inflation, noting that it’s posing a major threat to the U.S. financial markets and the recovering Covid-hit economy.

The price of bitcoin surpassed all-time highs Wednesday after the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S. started trading on the NYSE. Gold lost 8% over the past 12 months while bitcoin gained 437%.

The billionaire investor was asked to comment on investing in a bitcoin ETF as a way to get exposure to the cryptocurrency. Admitting that he is not “a real expert on ETFs,” Jones said:

I think a better way to get in would be to actually own the physical bitcoin, to take the time to learn how to own it … I think the ETF would be fine. I think the fact that it is SEC-approved should give you great comfort.

He was also asked if the approval of an ETF means that the regulators are saying that crypto is here to stay. Jones replied:

I think crypto is here to stay.

He proceeded to explain the reason the U.S. is “the most prominent economic power in the world is because we unleash our individual entrepreneurism and creativity.”

In contrast, he said, “China is doing the exact opposite. That place is on an economically slow boat to the south pole.”

The billionaire fund manager previously said that bitcoin was a store of wealth, like gold. He began recommending BTC for portfolios early last year. In October 2020, he said that he saw massive upside in bitcoin and likened investing in the cryptocurrency to investing in early Apple or Google.