Former Prudential Securities Chief Executive Ball Bats for Bitcoin

Former Prudential Securities chief executive and current chairman of Sanders Morris Harris George Ball sees Bitcoin as a safe haven for those looking for different investments. 

In an interview with Reuters on August 14, Ball admitted he was previously a “Bitcoin opponent” but, with the government participating in the financial markets, he’s seen the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

“I’ve never said it before, but I’ve always been a blockchain and Bitcoin opponent but if you look now, the government can’t stimulate the markets forever. The liquidity flood will end and sooner or later the government’s got to start paying for some of this stimulus, for some of the deficits, for some of the well-deserved, very smart subsidies that it is providing to people. Are they going to raise taxes that high or if not? Are they going to print money? If they print money that debases the currency and probably even things like TIPS, you know the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, can be corrupted. So the very wealthy investor or trader probably turns to Bitcoin or something like it as a staple.”

Ball added Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies “becomes a very attractive either long-term, I want a safe haven for money, or a short-term speculative bet.” He also made a bold claim in the interview that many people will turn to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as investments “after Labor Day.” 

The reason for this investment rush to cryptocurrencies, Ball said, is that people want something that “can’t be undermined by the government.”

Ball is just one of the many investors previously skeptical of cryptocurrencies that have changed their views in the past few months. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said in December Bitcoin “can be a viable stable financial asset” if one sees art or gold as such. Bridgewater Associates Chief Investment Officer Ray Dalio, who still hasn’t formally thrown his weight into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, said the U.S. dollar might lose its attractiveness the more central banks drive asset ownership.