Mark Mobius, a famous name in the investment world, recently attacked Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market. Calling them ‘psycho currencies,’ he said that the mania would only serve to further push up the price of ‘real assets’ like gold.

Mark Mobius has been at Franklin Templeton Investments for 30 years and is something of a legend in the investing world. However, the investment giant has just spoken out against cryptocurrencies and believes them only to be useful as far as they boost gold.

Not Crypto, Psycho

As Mobius told Bloomberg recently, “I call them psycho currencies, because it’s a matter of faith whether you believe in bitcoin or any of the other cyber-currencies.” The opinion is a strange one considering that he has expressed positive sentiments towards Bitcoin in the past. Just this past May, Mobius said that the industry could fulfill a desire among people to “be able to transfer money easily and confidentially.” He stated then that cryptocurrencies would be “alive and well” in the future. However, he seems to have changed his tune yet again.

It seems that Mobius is not interested in the actual technical and market fundamentals of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. No, instead he sees them mainly as a vehicle to further boost gold—an asset in which he, admittedly, probably has a large holding. He believes that investors should be “buying gold at any level” due to ever-increasing money supply.

A Fundamental Misunderstanding

Gold and Bitcoin have often been compared to one another, but Mobius seems to misunderstand Bitcoin’s fundamental value proposition. The 82-year old investor is likely not in tune with new market trends, and merely is looking for stability which gold provides. However, Bitcoin possesses all the fundamental benefits of gold with a fixed supply, more security, and is far easier to transact.

It should be noted, however, that Mobius is well-known for flipflopping on the cryptocurrency question. Before his statement in May, he called Bitcoin a “real fraud.” It seems that now he’s changed his opinion for the third time. Maybe by the fifth or sixth take, he will get it right.

Would you say that a boost in the cryptocurrency market will inadvertently also boost gold? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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