Billionaire investor Jeremy Grantham Calls Bitcoin and Crypto ‘Useless’

Billionaire investor Jeremy Grantham, co-founder of GMO and one of Wall Street’s best-known bubble watchers, delivered another harsh assessment of Bitcoin during a recent interview. 

Calling crypto a “useless speculative mechanism,” Grantham predicted Bitcoin will eventually “dwindle away… not with a bang, but a whimper,” arguing that interest will slowly fade rather than collapse overnight.

It’s Not a Stable Form of Value

Grantham said Bitcoin cannot be considered a reliable store of value because of its extreme volatility. He pointed to its roughly 52% decline from its October 2025 all-time high of $126,080 despite what he described as a strong economic backdrop. By comparison, he noted that gold delivered solid gains over the same period. 

According to Grantham, an asset that can lose half its value so quickly cannot provide dependable long-term stability.

People Don’t Use It to Buy Their Dinner

Grantham questioned Bitcoin’s real-world utility, arguing that it has failed to become a widely used payment method. “People don’t use it to make serious trades, they don’t use it to buy their dinner and pay at the supermarket,” he said. 

He added that Bitcoin’s lack of widespread commercial use raises doubts about its practical value beyond speculation.

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What It Does Is Allow Crooks to Move Money Around Without Leaving a Trace

Grantham argued that crypto’s primary use case has become facilitating illicit transactions, saying, “What it does is allows crooks to move money around without leaving a trace.”

He compared Bitcoin to shells used as money on an island and argued that proof-of-work does not create meaningful intrinsic value. However, he clarified that his criticism targets Bitcoin and crypto assets, not blockchain technology, which he said it still has long-term potential.

Host Pushes Back as Bitcoin Supporters Respond

CNBC host Joe Kernen challenged Grantham’s long-running bearish market record, arguing that investors who followed his repeated crash warnings would have underperformed the stock market. 

On the other hand, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said Kernen’s questioning was fair, while Societe Generale strategist Albert Edwards defended Grantham, comparing today’s market optimism to the periods before the 1999 dot-com crash and the 2007 financial crisis. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin supporters rejected Grantham’s criticism. Crypto investor Lark Davis argued that Bitcoin’s fixed supply and decentralization remain its biggest strengths, while Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego reaffirmed that 70% of his investment portfolio is allocated to Bitcoin, calling it better protection than cash or gold because governments cannot manipulate its supply.