Ray Dalio says Bitcoin unlikely to become a central bank reserve currency

Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio has reiterated doubts over Bitcoin’s future as a reserve currency. Dalio reposted an old clip of the Master Investor Podcast on X, repeating that central banks are unlikely to adopt Bitcoin due to its transparency of transactions and potential vulnerabilities.

Dalio said central banks are unlikely to embrace Bitcoin as it maintains a public ledger of transactions and is subject to future problems. He argued that governments are more concerned with privacy and regulatory control in their reserves, so it is less practical at the institutional level.

While Bitcoin has gained recognition as a store of value, the technology’s lack of confidentiality and potential code-related risks limit its prospects of becoming an official reserve asset, Dalio suggested. At the same time, Dalio did not completely dismiss cryptocurrency. He called it “alternative money” and recognised its growing importance in the financial ecosystem.

Crypto analyst fires back, calls Dalio’s warning “FUD”

Dalio’s stance has raised backlash from the crypto community. Cryptocurrency analyst Adam Livingston countered by citing transparency as a strength, not a weakness. He said Bitcoin’s public auditability avoids the sort of opacity that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis.

Hey Ray – a quick word about your take on Bitcoin:

Store-of-value test already passed. In 16 years Bitcoin rose from zero to a 2.4 trillion-dollar asset, crushed gold and every fiat currency on long-term purchasing-power charts, and settles $10-plus trillion on-chain without… https://t.co/TIPaUXnt4v

— Adam Livingston (@AdamBLiv) October 2, 2025

Livingston also rejected any notion that Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundation is “breakable.” He said that the SHA-256 algorithm that Bitcoin transactions rely on has stood the test of global attempts to crack it. He said that such concerns are founded on conjecture, not on technical proof.

The divide highlights an ongoing battle between traditional financial leaders and advocates of digital assets. While Dalio highlights risks, others focus on the resilience and transparency of Bitcoin as major features.

Bitcoin as hard money and portfolio asset

Despite raising concerns, Dalio has acknowledged Bitcoin’s hard money nature. He stressed its limited supply of 21 million coins and likened it to rare assets such as gold and silver. In previous comments, he put Bitcoin in the top tier of hard assets and recommended that as much as 15% of a portfolio be dedicated to the coin.

Dalio said that he personally owns Bitcoin, but he keeps his exposure low. After years of criticism, he finally softened his stance a bit and made his first purchase in 2021. In recent remarks, however, he did explain that his allocation is still modest. “My personal approach is that I do have some Bitcoin in my portfolio, but not much,” he said.

Dalio’s cautious optimism is also in line with the views of renowned investor Robert Kiyosaki. Kiyosaki has repeatedly urged investors to diversify their investments by including Bitcoin, in addition to silver and gold, to hedge against future financial crises. As of this writing, Bitcoin is currently trading for $120,430, which is a 24-hour increase of 1%.