Dalio: Bitcoin is not a safe haven like gold and cannot serve as a central bank reserve

Author: Fenrir, Crypto City

Dalio once again questions Bitcoin’s safe-haven status
The world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, recently once again questioned Bitcoin. He believes that while Bitcoin has some digital gold characteristics, it still cannot compare to gold in terms of central bank reserves, crisis hedging, and long-term stability.

Dalio points out that a true safe-haven asset needs to have low volatility, high liquidity, long-term historical credibility, and political neutrality, while Bitcoin currently still faces severe price volatility and regulatory uncertainty issues.

While Bitcoin gets a lot of attention, it hasn’t played the safe-haven role many expected. In my view, there are a few reasons why.

First, Bitcoin lacks privacy. Transactions can be monitored and potentially controlled, which is why central banks aren’t looking to hold it.… pic.twitter.com/j78NJdvrOw

— Ray Dalio (@RayDalio) May 11, 2026

He also specifically mentions that on-chain Bitcoin transactions are highly traceable and lack true anonymity, which creates additional concerns for sovereign nations and central banks. Dalio states that when establishing reserve assets, central banks need to consider geopolitical issues, asset freezing risks, and financial stability. Gold has accumulated thousands of years of trust, while Bitcoin is still in a relatively early stage.

Michael Saylor Responds Quickly
In response to Dalio’s comments, Strategy founder Michael Saylor quickly responded on social media platforms. Saylor believes that Bitcoin’s greatest advantage lies in its fixed supply and decentralized architecture. Compared to gold, which still faces issues of mining, storage, transportation, and supply increases, Bitcoin has clearer scarcity and global liquidity.
He also emphasizes that Bitcoin itself is an open financial network. Anyone can quickly transfer assets worldwide, which is something gold cannot easily do.

Gold is analog capital. Bitcoin is digital capital. Transparency is a feature, not a bug, making $BTC suitable as global collateral. Since we adopted the Bitcoin Standard on Aug. 10, 2020, Bitcoin has outperformed gold with a higher Sharpe ratio. pic.twitter.com/xhO2BUDDU7

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) May 11, 2026

Saylor has long argued that Bitcoin’s volatility is part of the growth process of an emerging asset. As market size expands and institutional funds enter, future price volatility may gradually decrease. In recent years, Strategy has continued to expand Bitcoin holdings through financing, making Saylor one of the most representative figures among global companies holding Bitcoin.

The Battle Between Gold and Bitcoin Heats Up Again
In fact, Dalio is not the first to hold reservations about Bitcoin. Over the past few years, he has repeatedly stated that he holds a small amount of Bitcoin and admits that Bitcoin has certain value storage functions, but he still believes gold remains a more mature global reserve asset. Especially in recent years, as geopolitical risks have increased worldwide, many central banks have significantly increased their gold holdings, further strengthening Dalio’s confidence in gold.
According to the World Gold Council, over the past two years, global central bank gold purchases have continued to hit record highs, including China, Russia, the Middle East, and emerging market countries, all increasing their gold reserves.
In contrast, very few countries currently officially include Bitcoin in their reserves, with only a handful of cases like El Salvador. Dalio believes this reflects that most sovereign nations remain highly cautious about Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Gradually Enters Sovereign Financial Vision
Despite ongoing controversy, the market has also noticed that Bitcoin has indeed gradually entered discussions on sovereign finance and institutional asset allocation in recent years. After the launch of the US spot Bitcoin ETF, large traditional financial funds have begun to allocate Bitcoin through compliant channels. Major institutions like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, and Fidelity are also expanding related products and research coverage.
Some market participants believe that Bitcoin may not completely replace gold, and the two may eventually serve different roles.

• Gold still leans toward being a tool for sovereign nations and central bank reserves;
• Bitcoin is gradually becoming a store of value for digital assets and the new generation of investors worldwide.

As global debt continues to rise, the US dollar system faces pressure, and the digital asset market matures rapidly, the comparison between gold and Bitcoin will continue to be an important topic in the global financial markets.