Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban Says Bitcoin Is a Store of Value but 'More Religion Than Solution to Any Problem'

Shark Tank star and the Dallas Mavericks’ owner, billionaire Mark Cuban has shared his updated view on bitcoin after the price of the cryptocurrency hit all-time highs. He compared bitcoin to gold but believes that bitcoin is not a solution to any problem as countries will take steps to protect their currencies.

Mark Cuban Says Bitcoin Is More Like Religion

While the price of bitcoin repeatedly hit all-time highs last week, American billionaire, Shark Tank star, and the Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is still skeptical about the cryptocurrency.

He was quoted by Forbes in an article published on Thursday as saying, “My thoughts haven’t changed” about bitcoin, elaborating:

It’s a store of value like gold that is more religion than solution to any problem.

Bitcoin has often been compared to gold and touted as an inflation hedge. Making the same comparison, Cuban noted that “unlike gold, because of the finite number of BTC that will be available and the nature of HODLing, when demand outstrips supply, the price will go up and vice versa.”

Several renowned hedge fund managers and financial analysts have even said that bitcoin will likely outperform gold, including billionaire hedge fund manager Stan Druckenmiller. Deutsche Bank’s analysts recently said that investors are increasingly choosing bitcoin over gold to hedge against the dollar risk and inflation. More companies and institutional investors are also moving their funds from gold to bitcoin, including British investment firm Ruffer.

“I think the whole conversation about BTC or any crypto replacing fiat currency is counterproductive,” Cuban asserted. “No matter how much BTC fans want to pretend that it’s a hedge against doomsday scenarios, it is not,” he claimed, emphasizing:

Countries will take steps to protect their currencies and their ability to tax, so the more people believe this is anything more than a store of value, the more risk of government intervention they face.

Cuban also believes that central banks will come up with some alternatives if necessary, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). “As we see in China and elsewhere, countries are more than capable of creating their own alternatives,” he opined.

The owner of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Dallas Mavericks concluded that “BTC is what it is, something that enough people have agreed upon is an investable asset.” Nonetheless, he insisted that “A banana has more utility, potassium is a valuable nutrient to every person on the planet, but as long as people accept BTC as a digital version of gold, its investable.” In September last year, he told Wired that he would “rather have bananas than bitcoin,” emphasizing that he could at least eat a banana.

Meanwhile, Cuban’s Shark Tank co-star Kevin O’Leary said early this month that he is ready to put 5% of his portfolio into a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).