Renowned investor and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio disclosed that Bitcoin constitutes just 1% of his investment portfolio, reiterating his preference for gold over the cryptocurrency. Bridgewater, which Dalio founded in 1975, is widely recognized as the world's largest hedge fund by assets under management, making his views on asset allocation closely watched across the financial industry.

Speaking on a Thursday episode of the Diary of a CEO podcast, Dalio acknowledged that Bitcoin qualifies as a form of money that cannot be printed but identified several risks that make him favor gold. "[Bitcoin] is a type of money that can't be printed, but there are technologies that can hurt it — in other words, if there's quantum computing," he said. "And it can be monitored by governments and so on, and it could be taxed. And digital currencies are somewhat similar."

Dalio's stance marks a notable shift from previous years, during which he stated he would not invest in Bitcoin, before eventually confirming a small allocation in his portfolio. During the podcast, he gestured toward gold bars and said, "I prefer that — I'm pointing to the gold bars here — rather than the Bitcoin." He confirmed that Bitcoin accounts for approximately 1% of his holdings, a figure consistent with what he reported last year.

This is not the first time Dalio has expressed skepticism toward Bitcoin while championing gold. In 2020, the billionaire investor described the cryptocurrency as too volatile to function effectively as money, while recommending that everyone hold some gold in their portfolio. His long-standing advocacy for gold is tied to his broader framework on the long-term debt cycle, in which he has argued that fiat currencies depreciate over time as governments print money to service obligations.

Dalio also raised concerns about potential government crackdowns on Bitcoin. "When the governments say I don't want it, they have the power, therefore, to do whatever they want with it, and central banks will not own any significant amount of that because of the reason I said: they want their transactions to be private and in their control," he said.

Despite Dalio's cautious approach, Bitcoin has gained traction among traditional investors and major Wall Street institutions. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has been among the prominent adopters. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has in recent years described Bitcoin as an "international asset" and a means of "digitizing gold." The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January 2024 further accelerated institutional access to the asset class, underscoring the divide between firms embracing Bitcoin and individual investors like Dalio who remain circumspect.

This article first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.