Veteran investor Jeremy Grantham has once again criticised bitcoin, saying it is a “useless” and ‘will gradually fade into irrelevance’
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Friday, the GMO co-founder asserted that its a speculative asset without intrinsic value and time and again failed to outperform even during strong bull markets.
Bitcoin fell below the $60,000 mark
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin fell below the $60,000 mark, down 2.66% from the previous day, to $59,934.04 at noon on 26 June, according to data on CoinMarketCap. The token’s market capitalisation also fell 2.75% to $1.2 trillion, with trading volume up 3.09% to $45.08 billion, it showed.
Quick answers to key questions
Why does Jeremy Grantham believe Bitcoin will fade into irrelevance?⌵
Jeremy Grantham criticizes Bitcoin as a ‘useless’ speculative asset lacking intrinsic value, asserting that it has failed to outperform even during strong market conditions.
What recent market factors have contributed to Bitcoin’s decline below $60,000?⌵
Bitcoin’s drop below $60,000 is attributed to hawkish inflation data from the US, fears of interest rate hikes, and significant outflows from exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
How does Bitcoin’s practical use compare to traditional currencies, according to Grantham?⌵
Grantham states that Bitcoin is rarely used for serious transactions, like grocery purchases, and mainly facilitates illicit money transfers, reducing its perceived practical utility.
What impact does trading volume have on Bitcoin’s market volatility?⌵
Increased trading volume can heighten Bitcoin’s volatility, making it more susceptible to rapid price changes, as seen with its recent declines amid market sell-offs.
Should investors be concerned about Bitcoin’s performance amid rising inflation fears?⌵
Yes, investors should be cautious as rising inflation and potential interest rate hikes may continue to negatively affect Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market.
The overall crypto market cap also touched its lowest since May, at $2.06 trillion, with trading volume of $101.38 billion, as per the data. Bitcoin maintained dominance, comprising 58.2% of the total market, down 1.59%, followed by second largest token Ethereum, which holds 9.1% of the pie, down 0.77%, and the other coins gaining 2.37% to capture 32.7% of the market.
‘No practical use…’
″[Over] years and years, decades and decades, it will dwindle away, I suspect — not with a bang, but a whimper,” Grantham said. “It’s not a stable form of value — it just halved … for no particular reason in a strong economy, so you can’t depend on it in that way.”
Grantham said Bitcoin has not only failed to prove itself as a good investment but also has little practical use. “People don’t use it to make serious trades, they don’t use it to buy their dinner and pay at the supermarket. … What it does is allows crooks to move money around,” he said.
Why is crypto market in the red?
According to an analysis by CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is underperforming a broadly weaker market, due to hawkish macro shock from hot United States inflation data for May, which reignited fears that the US Federal Reserve could hike interest rates.
Piyush Walke, Derivatives Research Analyst at Delta Exchange noted that the Fed’s preferred inflation measure has risen to its highest level since 2023. He added that significant outflow in ETF added another reason for the decline.
According to Nischal Shetty, founder, WazirX, “Over the last few days, we have seen profit booking across assets that had rallied on geopolitical uncertainty and liquidity expectations.”
Aprat from that, the surge in AI-related investments has also emerged as a key factor influencing Bitcoin’s price movement.
“Capital has been flowing back into select AI and technology stocks, while ETF inflows into Bitcoin have slowed compared to earlier periods. That creates a temporary imbalance where selling pressure is not being matched by the same level of buying demand,” WazirX founder says.
