Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the founder of Grupo Salinas and the third richest person in Mexico, considers Bitcoin to be a unique trading instrument providing ample trading opportunities. He calls the cryptocurrency the golds of the 21st and 22nd centuries.
Salinas believes that fiat means of payment provoke scams and money laundering, while bitcoin has a lot of extraordinary features. According to the billionaire, bitcoin is a real financial instrument regardless of whether "the digital gold" is a currency or not.
According to Salinas, gold and other precious metals cannot serve as means of payment as you cannot use them to actually purchase any goods or services. You need to convert gold into fiat money, and only then make a purchase.
Meanwhile, bitcoin has many exceptional features such as simple transfers, ease of storage without counterparty risks, decentralization, which make Bitcoin the gold of our time.
Ricardo Salinas' capital is estimated at about $16 billion. Besides, he is the owner of Banco Azteca.
The billionaire recommends investors including bitcoin in their investment portfolios and holding it. "The digital gold" is an asset that is recognizable globally, has international value, and is easily traded with high liquidity.
Ricardo Salinas believes that the bitcoin shortage is a key factor that makes "the digital gold" so unique and different from fiat money.
Bitcoin is not profitable for governments, so they will do anything possible to get rid of it. However, they are unlikely to succeed, since bitcoin has already taken a firm position in the financial system.
Governments, the US Federal Reserve, and other financial regulators may claim that bitcoin is illegal, but it will not stop people from buying and holding the cryptocurrency.
Answering the question about what he would keep in the event of a collapse in 30 years, the billionaire said he would ignore any fiat funds or gold due to the storage issues, as it is very problematic to store gold bars.
So, if a global collapse, some kind of financial catastrophe, or political upheavals break out, then it will be much easier to run away with bitcoins than gold bars. Salinas said that bitcoins account for about 10% of his portfolio, and he recommends using this cryptocurrency.
The billionaire added his Banco Azteca would be the first bank in Mexico to accept Bitcoin.
