The contentious debate between gold and bitcoin continues to rage, with billionaire Mark Cuban drawing the ire of gold investors with his latest comment about the precious metal.
Speaking on comedian Bill Maher's Club Random podcast, the entrepreneur and NBA Dallas Maverick owner said some harsh things about gold investors, adding that he is very supportive of Bitcoin.
"I want Bitcoin to go down a lot further so I can buy some more," he said on the podcast. The billionaire tech entrepreneur said that investing in gold wasn't worth it.
Cuban rebutted Maher's opinion after the comedian said he preferred to invest his money in the precious metal because of its appeal as a safe haven asset. Explaining that while gold is a form of savings, it is neither a safe nor a protected asset.
"Gold is a store of value and so is Bitcoin," he said, after Maher suggested the comparison. "If everything went to hell in a hand basket and you had a gold bar you know what would happen? Someone would beat the fuck out of you or kill you and take your gold bar. It's useless."
Cuban added that Bitcoin is a means of savings, and is also protected by a digital registry. He also noted that gold itself is mostly a digital asset, since few investors own the physical metal.
However, Cuban's comments did not endear him to one gold investor. Peter Schiff, chief market strategist at Euro Pacific Asset Management and founder of Schiff Gold said on Twitter, "His lack of understanding of Bitcoin is only exceeded by his lack of understanding of gold. He proves that you don't have to understand money to make it."
Cuban's comments about Bitcoins come as the digital currency has suffered significant losses. BTC prices have fallen nearly 64% this year. And compared to its November 2021 all-time high of more than $69,000, the digital currency is down more than 75%.
Last year, the market capitalization of the entire digital asset market fell by more than $2 trillion.
It has also been a volatile year for gold, but it remains one of the most profitable assets today.
Schiff said he's even more optimistic about gold because inflation is still far from peaking.
Schiff commented, "We're not even close to 2% [inflation]." The economist continued, "I think we're going to take out the highs from 2022 before the end of 2023 on a year-over-year basis. Maybe we'll go below 7% before we go over 10%."
