Not rich enough for Bitcoin
: Microsoft founder
Bill Gates
wants to take better care of his money than Tesla boss Elon Musk
Photo: Carolyn Kaster / AP
If Bill Gates (65) has his way, not many are considered to be Bitcoin buyers - or, strictly speaking, none.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the Microsoft founder recommended: "If you have less money than Elon, you better be careful."
Elon Musk (49), who recently also put billions of his car company Tesla on the crypto currency Bitcoin, "has a lot of money and is very well-versed", so he doesn't have to worry whether his Bitcoin portfolio appreciates or depreciates more or less by chance.
A problem arises because people who don't have that much money to spare jump on the "mania".
Depending on the billionaire ranking, Musk is the richest or now the second richest person in the world - because losses in Bitcoin and Tesla shares this week made him fall behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Bill Gates, who himself was at the top of the rankings for years, is now in third place with a fortune of 136 billion dollars - too little for a Bitcoin bet according to Gates' own criterion.
The tech veteran had previously told CNBC that he was holding back on Bitcoin.
The course was driven by a mania and changing moods, he had no means of assessing in which direction it was going.
Therefore, he does not bet on rising or falling prices, "I have a neutral view".
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However, it is only neutral in terms of market position.
In terms of content, Gates has a lot to complain about on the crypto market.
There are things in society that are invested in in order to produce something, he replied to the question from "Bloomberg" why he is not Bitcoin-bullish.
He didn't even need to express the reverse conclusion that Bitcoin was of no use - but instead the hint that the crypto currency "uses a lot of energy" for this zero result.
The University of Cambridge estimates the current electricity consumption of the Bitcoin network at 128 terawatt hours per year, more than Argentina consumes - the majority of the data centers in which Bitcoins are "mined" draw the cheap, surplus coal power from the Chinese provinces such as Xinjiang Network.
And with the Bitcoin price, the hunger for energy and the damage to the climate tend to increase.
"Digital money is a good thing" - but not like that
Gates, who is promoting a current book on climate change with his interview tour, did not want to go into the contradiction that the electric mobility pioneer Tesla, of all people, is active as a climate killer by buying Bitcoin.
He has "nothing but positive thoughts about Tesla and its role".
Elon Musk attacked Gates on Twitter a year ago because Gates had bought an electric car, but a Porsche Taycan and not one from Tesla.
Compared to "Bloomberg" Gates made it clear that in principle "digital money is a good thing".
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which last year founded the Mojaloop network with the participation of Bitcoin rival Ripple, helped set up decentralized payment networks in developing countries.
With their help, states in the pandemic could have given direct financial aid to citizens without a bank account.
However, the foundation makes sure that these systems are transparent and not anonymous, that payments can also be corrected and that they are subject to controls against money laundering, terrorist financing, crime or tax evasion - in contrast to Bitcoin.
A week ago, Bill Gates even spontaneously replied to the "Wall Street Journal" when asked which innovation the world would have done without: "The way cryptocurrencies work today".
And immediately corrected himself: "I should have said bioweapons."
They are even worse.
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