Hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones said that bitcoin (BTC) has become less attractive thanks to what’s become an unfriendly regulatory picture in the U.S. and what he expects will be lower inflation going forward.“Bitcoin has a real problem because in the United States, you have the entire regulatory apparatus against it,” Jones said on CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Jones who previously lauded bitcoin’s appeal as an inflationary hedge added that he believes inflation will continue to come down, adding to the less-bullish scenario for the crypto.Following the events of 2022, coming to a head with the dramatic collapse of FTX in November, U.S. regulatory bodies have become rather more hawkish toward the crypto industry, exemplified by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC)threat of legal action against publicly-traded cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase(COIN).
The hedge fund manager’s comments suggest his sentiment toward bitcoin has cooled somewhat since saying in 2020 that he could see himself allocating as much as 5% of his assets to BTC in the face of monetary debasement by the Fed. Last October, however, Jones described his allocation to bitcoin as “minor,” saying that cash is the place to be as long as the Fed can be trusted to get a handle on inflation.