Bill Gates says that cryptocurrencies and NFTs are a farce

Cryptocurrencies continue to lose value 0:56

New York (CNN Business) --

Don't count Bill Gates among fans of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Those digital asset trends are "100% based on the biggest fool theory," the Microsoft co-founder said Tuesday at a TechCrunch conference, referring to the notion that investors can make money in worthless or overvalued assets as long as they when people are willing to offer them more.

Gates mocked Bored Apes' NFTs, joking that "expensive digital images of monkeys" will improve "the world immensely."

Instead, Gates said he prefers old-fashioned investing.

"I'm used to asset classes like a farm where they have production, or like a company where they make products," he said.

• El Salvador's Bitcoin Investment Suffers Amid Crypto Collapse

His comments come at a time when bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are plummeting.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,000 in November 2021. Since then, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency has lost two-thirds of its value, falling below $23,000 on Tuesday.

It has lost about 25% of its value since Friday.

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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that it is laying off 18% of its employees as the digital currency market continues to unravel.

Gates has previously been hesitant about cryptocurrencies.

In a 2021 interview with Bloomberg, he stated that it was one thing for Elon Musk and Tesla to invest in bitcoin, but that doesn't mean average investors should follow suit.

"I think people get carried away with these fads, that they may not have that much money to spare," Gates said.

"So I'm not bullish on bitcoin."

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