Ray Dalio on Tuesday again cast doubt on Bitcoin’s claims to safe-haven status, arguing that the asset still falls low of gold in terms of privacy, institutional suitability and market structure. In a March 3 appearance on the All-In podcast, the billionaire hedge fund founder said these weaknesses facilitate explain why Bitcoin has not performed like gold in the current macro cycle.

When asked why Bitcoin is lagging while gold is rising, Dalio was the first to point to oversight and control. “Bitcoin does not guarantee privacy. Any transactions can be monitored and then perhaps indirectly controlled,” he said. He then drew a line from this feature to adoption at the state level. “Central banks are not going to want to buy bitcoin and be able to store it. So it’s not just individuals, it’s institutions and so on, but most, you know, and central banks.”

This matters because the broader framework Dalio laid out in the interview was based on the debt problem, monetary devaluation and the search for what he sees as politically neutral reserve assets. In this configuration, gold remains the reference point. He described it not as a speculative commodity but as “the most established money” and “the second largest reserve currency held by central banks”, arguing that its role is rooted in tradability, scarcity and the fact that it is not anyone’s responsibility.

Bitcoin, according to Dalio, still looks different. In addition to privacy, he noted technological uncertainty and the nature of the investor base. “There have been questions or thoughts about the development of new technologies such as quantum computing, etc. Could there be problems with this,” he said. “And then who owns it and what other exposures do they have in their portfolio? It tends to have a pretty high correlation to technology stocks.”

This last point ties into Dalio’s larger criticism: Bitcoin may be treated as an alternative monetary asset in theory, but in practice it still trades as a risky asset. “If someone gets squeezed into one thing, they sell something, whatever else they have,” he said, arguing that Bitcoin’s supply and demand dynamics are shaped by tensions between portfolios in a different way than gold. He also called it a “relatively small market” and for that reason a “relatively controlled market.”

Ray Dalio HOLDS Bitcoin!!

“Bitcoin has no privacy.”
“Central banks will not want to buy Bitcoin.”
“Quantum Computing”
“Who owns it?”

What do you think? pic.twitter.com/NdleeHR5lB

— Altcoin Daily (@AltcoinDaily) March 3, 2026

The Bitcoin community responds

The remarks were quickly met with backlash from Bitcoin supporters on X, where the debate focused less on Dalio’s macroeconomics than on whether he was underestimating Bitcoin’s long-term trajectory. Investor Vijay Boyapati he argued that Dalio “doesn’t fully understand why central banks hold gold,” arguing that these holdings exist in part to protect against the possibility of gold competing with sovereign currencies.

“When Bitcoin reaches the same scale as gold (in time based on its significant comparative advantage over gold), central banks will be forced to own it for the same reason they own golf. Without ownership, their national currency will become vulnerable to speculative attack by Bitcoin,” he added.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan he took it from a more market-oriented perspective: “Some hear criticism; I hear opportunity. These are the reasons why bitcoin is 4% of gold’s size. If these criticisms did not exist, bitcoin would already be ~$750,000 per coin. I invest in bitcoin in part because I am confident that these things will change over time.”

Abra CEO Bill Barhydt argued that Bitcoin’s volatility and lower price are features of a younger monetary asset and not evidence of failure, while questioning the seriousness of Dalio’s quantum concerns.

I would like to refer to a conversation between two people whom I admire very much (@friedberg AND @RayDalio) both as fellow libertarians and as macro-experts from whom I try to learn. The conversation in the video is about Bitcoin, but I expanded it to include Bitcoin and gold. Remember that… https://t.co/atznXiMdTy

— Bill Barhydt (@billbar) March 3, 2026

Meanwhile, Zcash founder Zooko Wilcox responded with a one-line jab: “I can’t wait for Ray Dalio to hear about Zcash.”

At the time of publication, the price of BTC was $69,660.

Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com