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Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Sparks Controversy with "Hunt or Be Hunted" Comment, Crypto Leaders Defend Bitcoin with Four Arguments

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Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, recently sparked the "Bitcoin hunting theory" during an interview with Yahoo Finance, suggesting that even if Bitcoin reaches a certain level of adoption, governments will resort to sanctions due to perceived threats. This argument has led to discontent from the crypto venture capital firm Moon Capital, which has come forward to refute the claim.

Government Will Hunt Bitcoin

Ray Dalio stated in a Yahoo Finance interview on November 7th that even if Bitcoin eventually succeeds in adoption, governments will go to great lengths to ban it. He pointed out:

Assuming the importance of Bitcoin continues to grow, the government will not stand idly by. They will use all means to prohibit this asset, such as banning Bitcoin trading or even holding Bitcoin.

Dalio's arguments against Bitcoin adoption also include "excessive volatility" and being overtaken by central bank digital currencies. In response, various venture capital firms, hedge funds, and exchange CEOs in the crypto community have come forward to defend Bitcoin, arguing that Bitcoin nodes are spread globally, making it impossible for governments to take action.

United States 1933: Private Gold Ownership Illegal

Venture capital firm Moon Capital posted a series of arguments on Twitter, including:

  • Government bans are overestimated and unreasonable
  • Bans indicate the tremendous value of Bitcoin
  • The government must shut down global mining operations to kill Bitcoin
  • Current regulatory measures are more about "enforcement" than prohibition

Regarding Dalio's "hunt" statement, Moon Capital also mentions that many people compare it to the 1933 gold ban. At that time, in order to detach uncontrollable gold from the monetary system and stimulate the economy, U.S. President Roosevelt made private gold ownership illegal, punishable by up to ten years imprisonment, and forcibly acquired it at $20.67 per ounce.

However, the result was a depreciation of the U.S. dollar, gold prices soared, and the following year the government adjusted gold to $35 per ounce. After the ban ended in 1974, gold rose to $850 in 1980, breaking through $2,000 this year to reach a historic high.

Furthermore, Moon Capital points out the issue of Bitcoin nodes being too decentralized. They argue that if the government has failed to prohibit drugs, weapons, alcohol, or even gold, how can they ban intangible Bitcoin?

Moon Capital also mentions newly elected Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, who purchased Bitcoin as early as 2013, and her son-in-law will cole is the head of products at blockchain firm Unchained Capital. Therefore, Moon Capital believes that cryptocurrency regulations will be promoted in the future.

Hedge fund manager Raoul Pal, with a Twitter following of 270,000, also agrees with the above arguments. He stated:

Great analysis, even if banned for 30 years, gold continues to trade globally, and any regional capital controls will not be effective, gold still holds value, and so will Bitcoin.

Those who have come forward to refute the arguments are influential figures in the crypto industry, and therefore are somewhat biased towards Bitcoin. While Ray Dalio has long been pessimistic about Bitcoin, his criticisms are not excessive, but he has always believed that high volatility is the main reason Bitcoin struggles to succeed on a large scale.