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Bill Gates takes a stance on bitcoin and assures that he has not invested in the cryptocurrency

The billionaire businessman and founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, assured this Thursday, February 18, that he has a neutral stance with respect to bitcoin (BTC) and also made it clear that he has not invested in the cryptocurrency.

During an interview with the US network CNBC, on the Squawk Box program, Gates stated that “he did not have bitcoin.” In addition, he clarified that he does not trade short either (betting that the price of BTC will fall), so he has opted for a “neutral view” on the cryptocurrency.

The philanthropist was also consulted on the role that cryptocurrency plays in climate change, due to the energy consumed by mining farms. However, he did not answer the question and instead referred to the payment tools that his foundation has developed in vulnerable countries.

«Moving fiat money in a more digital way and reducing transaction costs is something that the Gates foundation does in developing countries, “he said.

He also explained that the function of his foundation in those countries is to promote tools for carry out transactions that can be reversed and thus there is complete visibility of what each person does.

He also spoke about the volatility of bitcoin and expressed that its price “can go up or down” but he believes that a “mania or whatever they want to call it from the point of view of each one has been unleashed around the cryptocurrency.” He considers that “he has no way of predicting what the future will be like” of so-called digital gold.

Gates’ moderate stance on bitcoin contrasts with the opinion that the billionaire had in the 2018, specifically on the privacy of cryptocurrency, as reported by CriptoNoticias.

In that year, the businessman expressed: «the main characteristic of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity . I don’t think this is a good thing. The government’s ability to find money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing is a good thing. ”

Bill Gates and the GameStop Frenzy

In the interview broadcast by CNBC, Bill Gates was also asked about what happened recently with the shares of GameStop on the US stock market.

«People like to gamble and sadly it is a game of zero sum, because they do it with the idea of ​​promoting a valuation far beyond what is rational. It’s hard to see that socially as a good use of time. ”

Gates commented that people who buy stocks early get windfalls but those who buy late,“ can feel like fools. ”

Likewise, he considers that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should review this type of situation because, in his opinion, the stock market cannot be seen as a simple casino.

The GameStop phenomenon developed last January when a group of users of the Reddit’s subforum, WallStreetBets, came into conflict with the big companies on Wall Street. These people produced a bullish rally for the shares of the video game store chain GameStop , which caused companies like Melvin Capital to lose millions of dollars, as reported by CriptoNoticias.

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