- Former Prudential CEO George Ball has come out in support of Bitcoin, calling it an investor “staple”
- Ball, 81, told Reuters that alternative investments like Bitcoin were garnering attention due to governments’ financial stimulus measures
- Ball is representative of a growing number of institutional bankers who now understand the thesis behind deflationary assets like Bitcoin
Former Prudential CEO George Ball has surprisingly come out in support of Bitcoin, calling it an investor “staple”. The 81-year-old, who is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of wealth management firm Sanders Morris Harris, cited massive government stimulus through money printing as the reason why investors and traders were turning to the likes of Bitcoin. Ball’s comments echo the shifting tide towards Bitcoin as a hedge to the falling dollar, a tide which has grown stronger this year due to the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bitcoin “Attractive” Long Term
Ball, who left Prudential in 1991, was speaking to Reuters about the state of the financial markets when the subject of Bitcoin came up:
I’ve never said this before, but I’ve always been a blockchain, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin opponent. But if you look right now, the government can’t stimulate the markets forever. The liquidity flood will end sooner or later […] So the very wealthy investor or the trader probably turns to Bitcoin or something like it as a staple.
Ball was also bullish on the impact this growing interest would have on Bitcoin’s price, saying that it “becomes a very attractive either long-term…or (as) a short-term speculative bet”, adding that it could be perceived as a safe haven in time.
The Changing Tide Continues to Surge
Ball’s shift in perspective is a perfect example of just how far Bitcoin’s message is starting to spread. It wasn’t all that long ago that banks and those working for them were actively dismissing Bitcoin as a passing fad, but the coronavirus pandemic, or more specifically world governments’ response to it, has suddenly caused those same individuals to re-think the benefits of Bitcoin’s fixed supply mechanics.
What’s doubly interesting in Ball’s assessment of Bitcoin is that he’s not just a product of the traditional financial machine, but he’s also of the generation that typically has no interest in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies.
Having admitted to initially dismissing Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies, it is positive for the crypto space that another big name in the financial world has performed a u-turn, going from “opponent” to suddenly seeing Bitcoin’s use case in the wake of massive government spending.
