Bitcoin (BTC) is an "insurance policy against financial calamity," according to Bill Miller, the billionaire founder and Chief Investment Officer of investment firm Miller Value Partners.

On May 24, Miller appeared on an episode of the "Richer, Wiser, Happier" podcast to support cryptocurrencies as a way for folks caught up in the war to still access financial products. As an example, he cited the breakdown of Afghanistan's banking system following the US exit in August 2021.
<blockquote> “When the US pulled out of Afghanistan, Western Union stopped sending remittances there or taking them from Afghanistan, but if you had Bitcoin, you were fine. Your Bitcoin is there. You can send it to anybody in the world if you have a phone.”</blockquote>
Miller explained that instances of how cryptocurrency can be used as insurance don't have to be "all or nothing," citing the performance of Bitcoin during the early stages of the epidemic and the Federal Reserve's response.
<blockquote> “When the Fed stepped in and started gunning the money supply and bailing out, in essence, the mortgage rates […] Bitcoin functioned fine. There was no run on Bitcoin. The system functioned without the Fed and without any interference. Everybody got their Bitcoin, the price adjusted, and then when the Bitcoiners realized, ‘Wait, we’re going to have inflation down the road,’ Bitcoin went through the roof.”

“It’s an insurance policy, the way I look at it,” he added.</blockquote>
Miller also slammed Warren Buffett's recent critique of Bitcoin, claiming that "it doesn't generate anything" and that he "wouldn't take" all of the Bitcoin in the world for even $25.

He's said:
<blockquote>“Bitcoin is a non-productive asset and therefore he can't value it. Fair enough. If the only thing that you think you can value are productive assets, then no one's making you buy it, right? So ignore it.”

He later followed up his comment, adding “the objective of investing is not to own productive assets, the objective is to make money”.</blockquote>
Miller is most known for managing a portfolio that outperformed the S&amp;P 500 index for 15 years in a row, from 1991 to 2005. He's also known for his support of Bitcoin, having invested half of his net worth in the cryptocurrency in January.

When asked if he still held that position Miller confirmed that about “40% to 50%” of his money was in Amazon stock and his Bitcoin holdings were “about the same as Amazon”, adding that 80% of his net worth is split between the two assets.

After the Terra ecosystem collapsed, Miller discussed the Luna-based tattoo on the arm of Mike Novogratz, the founder of crypto asset management business Galaxy Digital:
<blockquote> “Somebody had sent me a picture of Mike Novogratz where he got a Luna tattoo on his arm months ago of the wolf howling at the moon, and it’s big. It’s like, whoops, maybe you should have got a Bitcoin on your arm, it’d be a little more enduring than that one.”</blockquote>
Novogratz has said that the tattoo will be a “constant reminder that venture investing requires humility” as Galaxy Digital posted a $300 million loss on its Luna investments.
<blockquote>“I felt bad for him when I saw some story of him going from something like $10 billion to $2 billion,” Miller said, “I’m like, yeah, that’s really tragic”.</blockquote>

Billionaire Bill Miller Calls Bitcoin 'Insurance' Against Financial Upheaval

Bitcoin (BTC) is an "insurance policy against financial calamity," according to Bill Miller, the billionaire founder and Chief Investment Officer of investment firm Miller Value Partners.

Prabhjeet Bhatla is a cryptocurrency writer covering startups and a researcher since 2020. She has authored many articles for Entrepreneur India and APAC (digital and print) on cryptocurrency and ever-evolving Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies. She specializes in applied cryptography, privacy-enhanced information storage systems, anonymous cryptocurrencies, elliptic curve crypto-systems, and satellite television piracy.

Billionaire Bill Miller Calls Bitcoin 'Insurance' Against Financial Upheaval

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