Bill Ackman Labels Short-Term Crypto Trading As Speculative, Sees Long-Term Worth

cryptonews.com:

Bill Ackman talked about his investment philosophy in a recent interview and briefly touched on cryptocurrencies.

The billionaire hedge fund manager discussed the difference between speculation and investing, noting that the former involves making guesses about the future without solid knowledge.

While he sees short-term crypto trading more as a speculative move, he believes there might be intrinsic value in the long run, he said.

“Speculation is just a bit like trading crypto… well, short-term trading crypto. Maybe in the long run, there’s intrinsic value,” he told podcaster Lex Fridman in an interview released Wednesday.

Ackman is well-respected in the investing world, mostly because of his bold investment strategies. He’s also been involved in controversial situations over the years. He gained fame by accurately predicting the crash of the junk bond market in 1989, while working as an analyst for a hedge fund in New York.

He is currently the founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. But he’s also famous for making smart moves in companies like Chipotle Mexican Grill, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Herbalife. These bets paid off, proving Ackman’s knack for spotting good opportunities.

Ackman elaborated on his view regarding crypto as a speculative investment. He said that many crypto investors were caught up in a bubble, heading towards an inevitable crash, driven mainly by speculative motives.

“They didn’t know what things were worth. They just knew they were going up. That’s speculation,” he said. “And investing is doing your homework, digging down, understanding a business, understanding the competitive dynamics of an industry, understanding what management’s going to do, understanding what price