A $25 Million Bitcoin Payday Eludes Investor Rob Arnott

(Bloomberg) -- When Rob Arnott became aware of Bitcoin in 2013, he found it fascinating -- just not enough to place a huge bet on it.

“As a libertarian, I thought, this'll give central bankers a so-called run for their money. It'll be fun to watch,” Arnott, founder and chairman of Research Affiliates and one of the best-known fundamental investors, said on the latest “What Goes Up” podcast from Bloomberg News. 

He debated putting $100,000 toward the then-nascent cryptocurrency, which at the time was trading in the neighborhood of $200. “I said, nah, I don't buy things I don't understand. I'll just buy one Bitcoin,” he recalled. “Today, if I bought the $100,000, it would be worth about $25 million.”

Emerging out of the ashes of the financial crisis, Bitcoin was created as a bypass around the banks and government agencies mired in Wall Street's greatest calamity in decades. At first, it was slow to break through, muddied by a slew of scandals. But it's slowly turned into one of the best-performing assets over the past decade. Its run since its inception a little more than 10 years ago has been so hefty that it's left skeptics and fans equally aghast. It's up some 340% over the past year alone.

The world's largest digital asset reached a new record Tuesday, touching $68,513 as investors seek out hedges against inflation. The total value of digital tokens has reached roughly $3.1 trillion, according to some measures.

Arnott, who is known for his deep research into asset bubbles, also discussed what he sees going on with markets and offers up a theory on the only thing that can pop bubbles. Click here to listen to the full podcast, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

What Pops Stock Market Bubbles? Only Surprises, Rob Arnott Says

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