Bill Gates: I'd bet against Bitcoin if I could

Nathan Bomey | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Bitcoin buyers tapping currency into cars, goods Buying with bitcoin can be as easy as tapping your phone, though there is a learning curve. Bitcoin miner fees have dropped markedly this year, and advocates say congestion issues are being solved by new technologies. (Feb. 27)

Bill Gates expressed deep skepticism about the prospects of bitcoin despite faith in the cryptocurrency's underlying technology.

Gates told CNBC "Squawk Box" journalist Becky Quick on Monday in an interview that bitcoin is "one of the crazier, speculative things" he's seen.

The technology titan, philanthropist and world's second-richest person declined to reveal insight into a "fantasy" investment portfolio that he runs for fun to gauge his ability to beat the market. (His actual net worth is managed by a team of real-life investors.)

But he made an exception for bitcoin, which is billed as a way to safely store and exchange encrypted value online.

"I'd short it if there was an easy way to do it," he said.

"Shorting" is a financial way of betting against an asset. If the asset declines in valuation, the investor's bet pays off. If it increases, the bet loses.

Bitcoin fell by nearly $30 in the minutes after Gates' comments. It was trading at $9,361 just after 4 p.m. Monday.

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Gates said he had been given bitcoin as a birthday gift a few years ago but sold it soon thereafter. He said he likes the underlying blockchain technology, which enables a safe and dispersed way to track and execute transactions.

The viability of bitcoin has divided the world's financial elites.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stirred controversy when he called bitcoin a "fraud," though he later backed off those comments.

Billionaire investor George Soros originally bashed cryptocurrency, but his family fund recently got approval to consider investments in it.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.