In a jab likely to rankle the crypto community, Bridgewater Associates founder and billionaire Ray Dalio noted that bitcoin has struggled to fulfil its promise as a safe haven role. The billionaire argued the asset is still too “small and controllable” to compete with the real thing. Though bitcoin dominates the conversation, Dalio maintains it cannot match the ubiquity or systemic importance of the precious metal.

Dalio’s remarks, made during a recent podcast, were in response to the host questioning why bitcoin has not moved in tandem with gold, which is up nearly 9% so far this year. In late January, the precious metal traded above $5,500 per ounce, briefly pushing its year-to-date gains to over 25%.

After reaching that peak, gold gradually declined, erasing most of its gains by late March. However, it began rallying again in April, and by May 13, it had reclaimed the $4,700-per-ounce mark.

In contrast, bitcoin has had a forgettable 2026 despite a positive start. Market data shows that after surging more than 10% in the first two weeks of the year, the leading cryptocurrency tumbled through the remainder of January and into early February, dipping below $60,000. Bitcoin ended the first quarter of 2026 down more than 20%. While it has slowly recovered some losses, it remains down 7% for the year.

In a May 11 post on X, Dalio also pointed to bitcoin’s correlation with equities, particularly tech stocks. While this correlation was less apparent during the early days of the Middle East conflict, bitcoin appeared to move in lockstep with tech stocks by the end of March. Dalio argued that this relationship makes the asset less appealing as a haven.

“It also has a high correlation with tech stocks. When investors get squeezed in other areas of their portfolio, they sell their bitcoin to cover it,” he said.

Dalio further argued that bitcoin’s lack of privacy undermines its safe haven credentials. From his perspective, bitcoin transactions can be monitored and controlled, which he believes makes central banks unwilling to hold the asset.

Predictably, Dalio’s post triggered a backlash from bitcoin proponents, some of whom accused him of ignorance. Michael Saylor, chairman of Strategy, replied to the billionaire, insisting that bitcoin’s transparency actually makes it suitable as global collateral.

“Since we adopted the Bitcoin Standard on Aug. 10, 2020, bitcoin has outperformed gold with a higher Sharpe ratio,” Saylor added.

Samson Mow also pushed back on Dalio’s privacy concerns, suggesting the billionaire needs to educate himself. Other social media users echoed this sentiment, with some dismissing Dalio as an “overhyped boomer” who has not read the Bitcoin Standard.

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