Bill Miller, the billionaire founder and chief investment officer of multibillion investment firm, Miller Value Partners, could not have been clearer about his own perspective on Bitcoin, , as he described the top cryptocurrency as an “insurance policy against financial disaster”.
Appearing on an episode of the “Richer, Wiser, Happier” podcast on May 24, Miller described cryptocurrency as a means for those under any form of conflict to access financial products. He used the collapse of the financial infrastructure in Afghanistan after the United States leaves in August 2021 as an example:
“When the US left Afghanistan, Western Union stopped sending remittances there or taking them out of Afghanistan, but if you had Bitcoin you would have been fine. Your Bitcoin is there. You can send it to anyone in the world if you have a phone,” Miller explained.
It paid off during the pandemic
Miller said that examples of how cryptocurrencies can act as insurance “should not be all or nothing” and noted how Bitcoin performed successfully in the early stages of the pandemic, but also the Federal Reserve’s reaction:
“When the Fed stepped in and started increasing the money supply and essentially bailing out mortgage rates, Bitcoin worked well. The system worked without the Fed and without any intervention. Everyone got their Bitcoin, the price adjusted, and then when Bitcoiners realized that “Wait, we’ll have inflation on the way,” Bitcoin rose to the top. It’s an insurance policy as I see it,” Miller said.
Miller vs. Buffett
Miller also rebuked Warren Buffett’s recent criticism of Bitcoin, who had said that “Bitcoin doesn’t produce anything” and that he “wouldn’t take” all the Bitcoin in the world for $25″:
“He said that Bitcoin is a non-productive asset and therefore cannot be valued. Fair enough. If the only thing you think you can value is productive assets, then no one is forcing you to buy it, right? So ignore it,” he added: “The goal of investing is not to own productive assets. The goal is to make money.”
Half of his fortune is in Bitcoin
Miller is famous for managing a portfolio that for 15 consecutive years between 1991 and 2005, consistently outperformed the S&P 500 index. He is also known for his advocacy of Bitcoin and put half of his net worth into it last January.
When asked if he still holds this position, Miller confirmed that about 40% to 50% of his money is in Amazon stock and his allocations to Bitcoin are “about the same as Amazon,” adding that 80% of his net worth is split between the two assets.
