The investor sharks on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank for startups may be ruthless, but one of them has a soft spot for Bitcoin. Robert Herjavec was featured in a segment on precious metal company Kitco’s news program and took the opportunity to declare his support for the leading cryptocurrency over gold.

Herjavec’s view is a far cry from that of fellow shark Mark Cuban, who once likened Bitcoin to baseball cards and stated that the flagship cryptocurrency has no “intrinsic value.”

[jnews_block_28 second_title=”Featured Stories” header_type=”heading_5″ number_post=”3″ boxed=”true” show_border=”true”] Meanwhile, the Bitcoin vs. gold debate has heated up of late, as investors weigh safe-haven assets given the negative effect that the spread of the coronavirus has had on stocks. Herjavec, whose rags to riches story started in Croatia before he immigrated to Canada, is partial to Bitcoin over gold, saying he’s “not a big believer in gold” as a hedge against these markets with the exception of the short-term outlook. Adding insult to injury for gold investors, Herjavec declared that he “is a big believer in Bitcoin,” which, while no doubt crushing to the Kitco audience, is all the BTC bulls needed to hear. Not only that, but he would be a buyer of BTC at these bargain levels, with the broader cryptocurrency market currently reeling and the Bitcoin price distancing itself further from the elusive $10,000 threshold.

“I think the price of Bitcoin on a long-term basis will quintuple,” adding that a $100,000 and $1 million Bitcoin price “doesn’t sound crazy.”

He suggested that consumers will eventually flock to the cryptocurrency, adding:

“Bitcoin is just convenient.”

The responses to Herjavec’s bullish outlook poured in on a Reddit thread, the best of which had to be by member “TheGreatCryptopo,” who commented,

“This shark is a secret whale!!!!”

The shark’s view on Bitcoin wasn’t all rosy, however. While he’s bullish about electronic payments, he maintains the market has a long way to go. Herjavec, who is also at the helm of Herjavec Group, characterizes the cryptocurrency market as a “fragmented industry,” pointing to altcoins and suggesting that investors be careful.

He believes the catalyst that will propel mainstream adoption of Bitcoin will be when a major institutional company such as JPMorgan backs it. He could be waiting a while, however, considering that the firm is already behind its own cryptocurrency, JPM Coin, for payments, which runs on the firm’s proprietary Quorum blockchain. Besides, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has not been shy about his disdain for Bitcoin.