Thomas Peterffy, a Hungarian-born American billionaire businessman and the founder, chairman, and largest shareholder of Interactive Brokers, has suggested that individuals invest in Bitcoin (BTC).
Peterffy Wants People to Have BTC
In a recent post, the Interactive Brokers founder recommended that people allocate about 2-3% of their net worth to Bitcoin. Before Peterffy’s suggestion, he earlier noted that people should hold “some Bitcoin” during a recent interview with Bloomberg Television. He also advised against having excessive exposure to the leading cryptocurrency.
“So, I think that anybody who does not have Bitcoin should have some Bitcoin, but not too much,” Peterffy said.
The American billionaire initially criticized Bitcoin, claiming it should be kept separate from the “real economy” after news surfaced about CME’s plans to introduce Bitcoin futures. Peterffy even warned that Bitcoin had the potential to destabilize the entire economy.
By July 2021, the executive shifted his stance, disclosing that he was a crypto holder. He mentioned investing “a small amount” and acknowledged that crypto could become a dominant currency.
In November 2022, Peterffy expressed surprise that Bitcoin didn’t undergo a more significant downturn after the sudden collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.
Growing Acceptance of Bitcoin
Peterffy’s recommendation comes when BTC and other crypto assets are witnessing increasing adoption among institutional players, like BlackRock and Fidelity, signaling a shift toward mainstream acceptance.
With the growing acceptance of BTC, Ray Dalio, the American investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, revealed that he prefers investing in bitcoin and gold over debt assets.
He further noted that BTC has been trading close to record highs as investors turn to digital assets as hedges against economic uncertainty, geopolitical conflicts, and new monetary policies.
Despite the market’s volatility, bitcoin has remained resilient. Last week, it traded above $103,000, significantly up from its lows earlier in the year. At the time of writing, the asset is starting to recover from its recent downturn, trading at over $101,200.
While Microsoft, a tech giant, voted against a proposal to invest directly in Bitcoin, other entities and corporations, like MicroStrategy, Riot, and MARA Holdings, have invested significantly in the asset.
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