Veteran investor and fund manager Bill Miller says he has “a very big position” in bitcoin and expects to see a lot of institutional adoption this year, particularly among endowments and foundations. “Bitcoin is insurance against financial catastrophe,” he opined.
Bill Miller Says “Bitcoin Is Insurance Against Financial Disaster”
Renowned value investor Bill Miller talked about bitcoin in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday. He is the founder of Miller Value Partners and is currently its President and Chief Investment Officer. He manages the company’s Opportunity Equity and Income Strategy funds. Prior to Miller Value Partners, he co-founded Legg Mason Capital Management.
Referring to bitcoin, Miller described, “It’s like an insurance policy.” He elaborated: “Insurance policies have no intrinsic value. In fact, you want them to have no intrinsic value. You don’t want to have your house burned down or get in a terrible accident but you pay for insurance every year in case that happens.” Miller continued:
Bitcoin is insurance against financial catastrophes like we see in Lebanon, or in Afghanistan, or in many of these other countries where we have seen in times of the pandemic.
Miller also clarified what he said in January about bitcoin being half of his net worth, noting that many media reports misinterpreted what he said. Miller explained that he only put a few percent of his net worth into bitcoin which then grew to become half of his total fortune as the price of the cryptocurrency soared. However, he added that now BTC accounts for less than half of his total net worth because the price has fallen since its high in November.
“I put a few percent of my net worth in it a long time ago and it’s become half of my net worth. Now it’s less than that because it’s halved since November. But it’s is still a very important position,” he said.
Commenting on KPMG Canada buying bitcoin and ether for its corporate treasury, Miller said he sees the move as bullish for the crypto sector. The billionaire fund manager opined:
I think you’re going to see a lot of adoption among foundations, endowments, and institutions this year, and it’s going to continue.
The veteran investor has long been pro-bitcoin. In September last year, his hedge fund company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a filing that bitcoin has “significant upside potential” as digital gold.
When the price of bitcoin fell in May last year, he was unimpressed with the price drop, pointing out that bitcoin price corrections are quite common.
