A billionaire and wildly successful trader has just given Bitcoin a rather large endorsement. Paul Tudor Jones said the cryptocurrency is this generation’s gold, according to a report in Bloomberg.
Jones reportedly told clients that Bitcoin can serve as a hedge against central bank policy. The Bitcoin community on Twitter seems to have taken the news as proof that the trader is hoarding actual Bitcoin. However, that doesn’t appear to be quite the full picture.
Bitcoin Is a Great Hedge Against Inflation, Says Jones
Paul Tudor Jones is optimistic about Bitcoin’s future. The legendary Wall Street trader believes that Bitcoin would serve as a fitting hedge against inflation.
In a client note seen by Bloomberg entitled ‘The Great Monetary Inflation’, the billionaire wrote that Bitcoin reminded him of gold. He made the case that it will be this generation’s protection against the rampant money printing of central banks in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
He wrote:
If I am forced to forecast, my bet is it will be Bitcoin.
According to Jones, his Tudor BVI fund also has exposure to Bitcoin futures. He claims it holds up to a low single-digit percentage of the contracts.
It’s Bullish, but Let’s Not Go Too Far
Naturally, the Bitcoin community on Twitter has lost its mind over the news. Many of the biggest proponents of the cryptocurrency seem to have taken the news and run with the narrative they’d like to hear.
Anthony Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital tweeted :
Bang Bang… Paul Tudor Jones buys Bitcoin. Welcome to the party.
Satoshi Nakamoto Institute founder Pierre Rochard went one further than Pompliano. He claimed that the endorsement “marks the beginning of the end for fiat” currency.
They were not alone either. Many others left out a rather important detail in their re-reporting. Paul Tudor Jones said he has exposure to Bitcoin futures, not Bitcoin.
Calling herself “the annoying person” who’s going to say it, CoinShares Chief Strategy Officer Meltem Demirors highlighted the above distinction. She tweeted:
Paul Tudor Jones isn’t ‘buying bitcoin.’ He’s buying a CME Group futures contract that’s cash settled and tracks the price of Bitcoin. There’s a difference.
However, she did go on to state that it was still a huge validation for Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin price had been in a steady uptrend since Monday. The news of Jones’ interest in Bitcoin coincided with a particularly sharp surge in price. However, it’s not immediately clear whether the revelation caused the sudden increase in buying pressure or if the pump is just another example of the volatility synonymous with Bitcoin.