The comments are a notable shift from his 2022 recommendation of just 1–2% in bitcoin, reflecting growing concern over what Dalio calls a “debt doom loop.”
What to know:
- Ray Dalio recommends investors allocate 15% of their portfolios to bitcoin or gold due to rising U.S. debt and currency devaluation risks.
- This marks a shift from his previous 1–2% recommendation, influenced by concerns over a projected $12 trillion in new Treasury issuance.
- Dalio still prefers gold over bitcoin, citing concerns about blockchain transparency and surveillance, but suggests the specific allocation ratio is flexible.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio is calling for investors to allocate 15% of their portfolios to bitcoin BTC$118,678.62 or gold, citing heightened risks from the U.S.’s accelerating debt burden and long-term currency devaluation.
“If you were optimizing your portfolio for the best return-to-risk ratio, you would have about 15% of your money in gold or Bitcoin,” Dalio said on the Master Investor podcast Sunday.
The comments mark a notable shift from his 2022 recommendation of just 1–2% in BTC, reflecting growing concern over what Dalio calls a “debt doom loop.” He pointed to a projected $12 trillion in new Treasury issuance over the next year, required to service the U.S.’s $36.7 trillion national debt.
A U.S. Treasury report on Monday confirmed the trend, with the government expecting to borrow $1 trillion in Q3, $453 billion more than previously forecast, followed by $590 billion in Q4.
Dalio, who still favors gold over bitcoin, described both as “effective diversifiers” in a scenario where fiat currencies lose value relative to hard assets. Still, he maintains skepticism about the asset’s role as a reserve currency, citing concerns about surveillance and the transparency of the blockchain.
“Governments can see who is doing what transactions on it,” he said, adding that any code-level vulnerabilities could undermine Bbtcoin’s credibility as an alternative money.
While Dalio owns “some Bitcoin,” he framed his updated 15% recommendation as flexible: The specific ratio of BTC to gold is “up to you,” he said.
BTC trades just over $118,000 in Asian morning hours on Tuesday.
