Billionaire Investor Leon Cooperman: If You Don’t Understand Bitcoin, You’re Old
The 78-year-old investor shared opinions on Bitcoin even after admitting he doesn’t understand it; BTC doesn’t care, but he should.
Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman told CNBC that older people do not understand Bitcoin, hence why he doesn’t currently comprehend the characteristics and value proposition of the peer-to-peer monetary network.
“I say that if you don’t understand bitcoin, it means you’re old,” he said on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday. “I’m 78. I’m old, I don’t understand it.”
Yet, the Omega Advisors chairman proceeded to explain that he does have an opinion on Bitcoin; he doesn’t think it “makes a great deal of sense” and said gold is a more certain store of value in his opinion.
It isn’t uncommon to see people give opinions on things they know little about. As is the case with Cooperman, people can feel drawn to sharing thoughts on matters they haven’t taken the time to research and experiment with.
Bitcoin, specifically, is a very complex innovation that encompasses a wide range of fields, from economics to technology and sociology. In the intersection of different areas of society, Bitcoin provides a unique value proposition that goes much further than simply a better, digital version of gold.
Later on in the interview, Cooperman said he mainly monitors the stock market, the U.S. government moves, and policies from the Federal Reserve, which all combine to affect inflation and market performance.
“The market structure is broken so when there’s a real fundamental reason for the market to go down, it’ll go down so quickly, your head’s gonna spin,” the billionaire investor said. “There’s no stabilizing force in the market now, it’s all run by machines.”
Cooperman is worried about inflation and pessimistic about U.S. government spending and the Fed’s monetary policy. Therefore, the Omega Advisors chairman could benefit from purchasing and holding Bitcoin more than he realizes, but he can’t know it since he hasn’t understood it yet. Bitcoin provides its holders an absolute cop-out from governments’ monetary policies that favors few at the expense of many, usually resulting in a severe loss of purchasing power long term.
The unstoppable peer-to-peer money empowers people worldwide to worry less about uncertain events and third-party moves by enabling individual sovereignty. Bitcoin is about having an option; it is about opting for freedom and against government control. By saving in BTC, a money that cannot be debased or taken away by third parties, people can retake control of their finances — and ultimately their lives. It is too bad many people worldwide still don’t understand that, but time may help Bitcoin fix that too.
