Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has defended bitcoin's reputation as a digital rival to gold, as the price of the biggest cryptocurrency is hammered by a crypto crackdown in China.
Cuban said on Twitter on Monday that bitcoin is "better than gold." He added: "No worries about storing it. Easy to transfer. Easy to trade. Easy to convert. Doesn't require an intermediary. Can be fractionalized."
The Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" star said that he thought the biggest challenge to bitcoin was that there are "no William Devane-type commercials and all the people who believe gold is an inflation hedge."
Cuban was referencing commercials by precious-metals asset-management firm Rosland Capital, which featured the actor William Devane saying gold is "the only currency I trust."
The comments from Cuban came as bitcoin tumbled more than 10% against the US dollar to a two-week low. It dropped after Chinese authorities renewed a crackdown on cryptocurrency "mining" – the energy-intensive computing process by which networks are secured and new coins are created. At the same time, China said it had met with major banks to reiterate its ban on crypto services,
Bitcoin traded at around $32,300 on Tuesday morning, down from above $40,000 a week earlier and around 50% lower than its April record high.
Cuban holds bitcoin, and so has an interest in talking up its merits. Yet he also appears to firmly believe it's a superior alternative to gold, having argued that the digital currency's scarcity means it can hold its value as inflation rises.
His view is controversial among investors, however, and it has been challenged by real-world events. Bitcoin's plunge from a record level of $65,000 in April has coincided with US inflation shooting up to a 13-year high.
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