Bitcoins (BTC-USD) volatility has dealt a major blow to crypto markets. Miller Value Partners portfolio manager Bill Miller IV joins Yahoo Finance Live to shed light on bitcoin’s business resilience despite various crypto headwinds.
“Bitcoin is very different from crypto, crypto was doomed yesterday,” says Miller, referring to the former FTX CEO. Sam Bankman-Fried convicted of fraud. “Bitcoin is booming, the network is stronger than ever.”
Miller anticipates positive long-term trends for bitcoin despite its recent volatility, citing its appeal as an “uncensorable” asset.
For more expert insights and the latest market action, Click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Video transcription
AKIKO FUJITA: The volatility of cryptocurrency is undermining the exchanges that hold it. Coinbase saw trading volumes drop in the third quarter amid volatile trading sessions for the cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, MicroStrategy had to write down more than $33 million during its most recent quarter, due to the coin price falling since its November 2021 peak.
Our next guest has remained a Bitcoin bull despite price fluctuations and scandals in the crypto industry, like the recent fraud conviction of Sam Bankman-Fried. Let’s call on Bill Miller IV, portfolio manager of Miller Value Partners.
Bill, I’m excited to talk to you today. Let me first know your reaction to the verdict that was handed down. What does this ultimately mean for crypto as a whole?
BILL MILLER: Well, I think it’s really important to differentiate between Bitcoin and crypto. So, crypto was found guilty yesterday of seven counts of fraud. Lying to people about what you do with their money is wrong.
The beauty of Bitcoin is that this is not a problem. There is a very clear digital ledger maintained by computers and a very clear protocol that is visible to everyone. Bitcoin is very different from crypto.
Crypto was therefore condemned yesterday. Bitcoin is still very, very strong. Networks are stronger than ever. There are more users than ever. So we continue to see very positive trends in Bitcoin, but not so much in crypto.
BRAD SMITH: What is the most positive trend? And do you think it’s largely – especially with some of the price action that we’ve seen recently, which seems to have been driven, not so much by what’s happening in testing, but more by some of the ETFs that might be ready for approval?
BILL MILLER: Yeah. I think the general trend is that Bitcoin has been the best performing asset in nine of the last 12 years. That’s three years out of four. People tend to focus on very short-term fluctuations and volatility. But the reality is that there is real demand globally for a non-censorable asset, whose rules and measurement criteria regulators cannot change over time.
So I think another factor that has driven Bitcoin’s appreciation recently is the enormous debt that we are accumulating in the United States. Deficits are increasing. Debts are increasing. And someone is going to have to pay for that. Ultimately it will come from money printing.