What Billionaires Think About Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies Used in the Dark Web

By virtue of their financial status and degree of investments, billionaires around the world have earned themselves a place in society in the sense that whenever there is something shaping a particular industry in one way or the other, they always have something to say about it.

How they express their thoughts varies from time to time and is dependent on whether they have been asked about it by someone else or they have decided to talk about it on their own in a bid to share knowledge with others.

For these reasons, billionaires with investments cutting across various sectors are accorded the chance to say something about Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Interestingly, though evident, many of them have divergent views whereas others think in a more or less similar manner.

It is certain that cryptocurrency is the future of financial technology. Even though it is still in its early stages, just slightly less than a decade old, cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin paving the way has shown the world that in it, there lies immense potential.

Below, we take a look at what a few of the most successful business leaders in the world have said about digital currencies.

But first, we have to note that some have gone to the extent of experimenting by buying and holding onto crypto, whereas others have implemented it as a payment option in their own businesses.

Bill Gates

Gates is undoubtedly one of the wealthiest men in the world with Microsoft as his main source of revenue. Recently, while in an AMA session conducted via Reddit, Gates was asked a rather interesting question by one of the participants about his views on digital currencies.

In his response, the Microsoft founder acknowledged the fact that they are beyond the reach of law enforcement personnel, which makes crypto not his cup of tea.

More so, they are often used to perpetuate all sorts of illegal activities such as tax evasion, terrorism and the trafficking of dangerous drugs such as fentanyl.

Gates then ended by saying that the risks associated with Initial Coin Offerings and cryptocurrencies, in general, are relatively high for those who get involved in the long term.

However, and despite Gates knowing all of this, the company he founded decades ago has begun to embrace cryptocurrency as a mode of payment.

Carl Icahn

In a recent interview, the longtime billionaire investor said he views cryptocurrencies as ridiculous and says he wouldn’t go for it in any way whatsoever because it could as well be a bubble.

Icahn, who is chairman of Icahn Enterprises L.P., further admits that perhaps the reason why he is not into digital currencies is that he does not understand how they work or maybe even because he is “too old for them.”

Warren Buffett

Considered as one of the most successful investors of our time, Buffett is one person whose opinion on such matters is highly influential. Earlier this year, the billionaire said he is sure that the crypto craze, especially with Bitcoin, will eventually come to an end in a negative way.

Just like Icahn, Buffett admitted that he does not know much about Bitcoin, and is not interested in trying it out because he has gotten into trouble in the past when making decisions on markets he isn’t familiar with.

It seems that the phrase “every move is a calculated risk, and every risk is a calculated move” is taken seriously by the Berkshire Hathaway CEO and, as such, cryptos are a no-go for him.

Mark Cuban

Popularly known for his role in hosting the ‘Shark Tank’ reality TV series on ABC, Cuban’s first impression of Bitcoin was that it was a bubble. However, with time, he ended up trying them out by buying Bitcoin and Ethereum himself.

On advising those who wish to take part in it, Cuban says that one should only gamble with funds they are willing to lose because the prices of Bitcoin and other tokens are highly volatile and may drop a significant amount of value in just a few hours.

Since the ‘Shark Tank’ host is wealthy enough given the numerous investments he has made, he says he can afford to make investments in virtual currencies, and in the event anything happens, then there is really nothing much to lose.

Richard Branson

Branson, founder of Virgin Group, is an English billionaire with multiple companies cutting across different sectors of the economy. In a CBNC segment, the interviewer acknowledged the fact that Bitcoin is used for various illegal purposes and further asks Branson if he would invest in it.

In a somewhat surprising and unexpected response, Branson says he has already put some money in the cryptocurrency because of his desire to learn new things which come with their own advantages.

In his view, there will be a single global currency in the future that will have the potential to replace banks and other currencies, and maybe he considers it to be Bitcoin.

Just like Gates, Branson has integrated Bitcoin as a payment option In one of his companies, Virgin Galactic.

Jerry Yang

Then we have Yang, who is the founder of Yahoo, a one-time internet giant before Google, Facebook, and others took over due to their innovation tactics surpassing that of his company. Yang is a believer of cryptocurrencies but says that the hype it’s currently receiving is misguided.

Yang’s cause for concern is that instead of people looking at blockchain technology from the perspective of it bringing about convenience when making transactions, people are buying it in a bid to get financial returns at the end of the day.

Michael Novogratz

Once a hedge fund manager on Wall Street, Novogratz’s view of Bitcoin is that, given the fact that the total market capitalization of the coin is running into hundreds of billions of dollars, it has the potential to gain more use over time.

Some weeks back, a heated debate on Twitter reached the former Wall Street hedge fund manager, and he came to the defense of Bitcoin (BTC) over Bitcoin Cash (BCH) by saying it is more prominent in the sense of coin market capitalization.

BCH came after a fork on the Bitcoin blockchain. Since then, BCH has been widely adopted in various darknet markets as means of payment in a bid to give users more options in the event there are delays with Bitcoin Core.

Individuals Earning a Fortune from Virtual Currencies

It is evident that there are individuals who have attained the millionaire, multi-millionaire, and even billionaire status by getting involved in cryptocurrencies in several ways.

Then we also have those who have earned by developing their own cryptocurrency such as American-based tech leader Chris Larsen. Larsen is the former CEO of Ripple (XRP), one of the most popular altcoins used in business transactions.

Because of the adoption rate of the currency during the winter season, Larson net worth almost reached $60 billion in a short period. However, with time, the price of XRP began to experience a downward trajectory at a somewhat faster rate.

Unlike Bitcoin, Moner, and Litecoin, Ripple have not gained attention among darknet users but is popular within the banking community in the U.S.

Lastly, we can note that there are three primary ways of earning through cryptocurrencies: The first is buying and holding on, the second is through mining, and the last is through buying low and selling high.

The only disadvantage with the third is that the price volatility may cause individuals to go at a loss.