While some are convinced that the future belongs to the cryptocurrency, others continue to consider it as one big soap bubble. Among the latter was the former head of Microsoft and part-time one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates. In his speech at the TechCrunch Sessions: Climate 2022 conference, Gates hacked off his shoulder – both cryptocurrencies and NFTs got it.
According to the billionaire, cryptocurrencies and NFTs are a market driven solely by sentiment. And the assets of crypto owners are another example of the “greater fool theory”. The essence of this theory is that people are willing to give money for assets that are actually worth nothing, in the hope that one day there will be a fool willing to pay even more for them.
And any market that relies only on faith and artificially inflated prices ends up the same way. Sooner or later, the flow of those wishing to invest will dry up, demand will collapse, and prices will collapse along with it. As a result, the owner will be left with a mountain of assets that no one needs and will count losses.
Gates did not miss the opportunity to prick the owners of Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the most expensive NFT collections in the world. “Of course, expensive digital pictures of monkeys will significantly improve the world,” the billionaire said sarcastically.
As proof of his arguments, the former head of Microsoft cited the current situation in the crypto industry. Over the past six months, bitcoin has fallen by 50%. And all because of investors who preferred more stable assets to crypto. Cryptocurrency companies have also suffered from this, the same Coinbase, Crypto.com and BlockFi are already laying off employees due to a decrease in trading in the markets.
But if in one place it departed, then in another it arrived. The fall of bitcoin has led to an increase in interest in NFT tokens. More and more people are ready to give real money for virtual pictures. Within a day, trading volume on the OpenSea platform increased by 173%. But Bill Gates clearly does not believe in the success of NFT traders and declares that he does not intend to participate in this.
