Dalio: Bitcoin is less effective as a hedge than gold, and cannot serve as a central bank reserve

Author: Fenrir, Crypto City Dalio Once Again Questions Bitcoin's Safe-Haven Status Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, recently raised questions about Bitcoin once again. He believes that while Bitcoin possesses some digital gold characteristics, it still cannot compare to gold in terms of central bank reserves, crisis hedging, and long-term stability. Dalio pointed out that a true safe-haven asset must possess low volatility, high liquidity, long-term historical credibility, and political neutrality, whereas Bitcoin currently still faces issues of severe price volatility and regulatory uncertainty. While Bitcoin gets a lot of attention, it hasn't played the safe-haven role many expected. In my view, there are a few reasons why. First, Bitcoin lacks privacy. Transactions can be monitored and potentially controlled, which is why central banks aren't looking to hold it.… pic.twitter.com/j78NJdvrOw — Ray Dalio (@RayDalio) May 11, 2026 He also specifically mentioned that Bitcoin's on-chain transactions are highly traceable and lack true anonymity, which creates additional concerns for sovereign nations and central banks. Dalio stated that when central banks build reserve assets, they must consider geopolitics, asset freezing risks, and financial stability issues. Gold has accumulated thousands of years of historical trust, while Bitcoin is still in a relatively early stage. Michael Saylor Fires Back Swiftly In response to Dalio's remarks, Strategy founder Michael Saylor quickly responded on social media. Saylor believes that Bitcoin's greatest advantage lies in its fixed supply and decentralized architecture. Compared to gold, which still faces issues of mining, storage, transportation, and increased supply, Bitcoin possesses clearer scarcity and global liquidity. He also emphasized that Bitcoin itself is an open financial network. Anyone can rapidly transfer assets globally, which is something gold finds difficult to achieve. Gold is analog capital. Bitcoin is digital capital. Transparency is a feature, not a bug, making $BTC suitable as global collateral. Since we adopted the Bitcoin Standard on Aug. 10, 2020, Bitcoin has outperformed gold with a higher Sharpe ratio. pic.twitter.com/xhO2BUDDU7 — Michael Saylor (@saylor) May 11, 2026 Saylor has long argued that Bitcoin's volatility is part of the growth process of an emerging asset, and as market size expands and institutional capital enters, future price volatility has the opportunity to gradually decline. In recent years, Strategy has continuously expanded its Bitcoin holdings through financing, making Saylor one of the most representative figures in global corporate Bitcoin holdings. Gold vs. Bitcoin Debate Heats Up Again In fact, this is not the first time Dalio has held a reserved attitude toward Bitcoin. Over the past few years, he has stated multiple times that he holds a small amount of Bitcoin, and has acknowledged that Bitcoin possesses certain store-of-value functions, but has always believed that gold remains the more mature global reserve asset. Especially in recent years with rising global geopolitical risks, central banks worldwide have substantially increased their gold holdings, further reinforcing Dalio's confidence in gold. According to data from the World Gold Council, global central bank gold purchases have continuously hit historical highs over the past two years, with China, Russia, the Middle East, and emerging market countries all continuing to increase their gold reserve proportions. In comparison, the number of countries that have truly incorporated Bitcoin into official reserves remains quite limited, with main cases still concentrated in a few countries such as El Salvador. Dalio believes this reflects that most sovereign nations still maintain a highly cautious attitude toward Bitcoin. Bitcoin Gradually Enters the Sovereign Financial Spotlight Despite ongoing controversy, the market has also noted that Bitcoin has indeed gradually entered the scope of sovereign finance and institutional asset allocation discussions in recent years. After the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, large amounts of traditional financial capital began allocating to Bitcoin through compliant channels. Major financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Fidelity have also successively expanded related product and research coverage. Some market participants believe that Bitcoin may not necessarily completely replace gold, and the two may form different positions in the future. - Gold still leans toward being a reserve tool for sovereign nations and central banks; - Bitcoin is gradually becoming a value storage option for global digital assets and the new generation of investors. As global debt levels continue to climb, the U.S. dollar system faces pressure, and the digital asset market rapidly matures, the comparison between gold and Bitcoin will continue to be an important topic in global financial markets in the future. (The above content is excerpted and reprinted with authorization from our partner "Crypto City," original link)