News Bites
'Bitcoin has effectively replaced gold' - Chamath Palihapitiya
Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya sees gold giving way to bitcoin.
Palihapitiya was interviewed by CNBC’s Scott Wapner at the Delivering Alpha conference on Wednesday.
Palihapitiya referenced gold when he was asked if he wanted to make a price prediction for bitcoin. CNBC said that Palihapitiya made predictions as high as $200,000 a bitcoin earlier in the year. Palihapitiya deferred on giving a number during the interview.
"It's very hard for me to give a price prediction, but I can pretty confidently say that bitcoin has effectively replaced gold," said Chamath.
"I can pretty confidently say that #bitcoin has effectively replaced gold," says @Chamath.
— Delivering Alpha (@DeliveringAlpha) September 29, 2021
"And it will continue to do so... that market cap is just going to grow." #DeliveringAlpha pic.twitter.com/KFL4TywfD3
Bitcoin finished today at $41,485, up 41% year to date. Gold lost about 10% over the same period having dropped below $1,730 today. Coinbase estimates that gold's market cap is $11 trillion, and bitcoin is $1 trillion.
Late in the interview Palihapitiya said he is worried about inflation, but he is seeking protection in hypergrowth companies, which he defines as "...businesses that are growing 50% or more each year." Companies he mentioned were mentioned Sofi, Opendoor Technologies and Clover Health.
The former Facebook executive is a billionaire investor with 1.5 million followers on Twitter. He was one of the drivers of the Gamestop surge on Wall Street Bets early this year..
Palihapitiya isn't entirely dismissive of metals. He said he has made investments in the EV space. He also singled out mining stocks as cash-generating options for investors.
